Moonlite Violet
by Lolly6
Summary: Complete- Buffy and Spike had a daughter, Buffy dies when she was 5 and spike leaves her, what happens when he reenters her life 12 years later and will he be able to cope with what destiny has handed his daughter?
1. Default Chapter

Moonlight shone through the open curtained bedroom window of 17-year-old Violet. In the moonlight she looked almost Elvin in appearance with her silver blonde hair glowing in the light and her petite frame, which was barely visible underneath her maroon cotton duvet. She was sleeping soundly but suddenly sat bolt upright in her bed and let out a little cry before opening her crystal baby blue eyes which were identical to those of her father although she didn't know it, and turned to look at the digital clock on her bedside table and saw that it was 3:15 am.  
  
She shook her head for a moment and then turned back over on her side deciding to try and get some sleep. After about half an hour of tossing and turning she realised grudgingly that she wasn't going to go back to sleep and so decided to get up put on her pink flannel bath robe and go down stairs, to make herself some camomile& honey tea and see if drinking it would help her sleep. Willow always recommended that and often left a cup of it brewing on the side board kept hot hours after she went to bed, for Oz when her got home after playing in the Bronze or whatever club he and the guys in dingo's ate my baby managed to get a gig in. Violet liked living with Willow and Oz, although they weren't really her parents they were the only ones who she had really ever known, and she loved them a good deal more than some of her friends like Hailey and Erin loved theirs. They were always complaining about this that and the other about their parents. Violet had never really had anything to complain about with Willow or Oz. She loved the way that Willow even at the age of 35 bad a naïve streak, which was so pure it was amazing especially after what she had gone through. And Oz, he confused most of her friends with his cutting wit and dry humour which only Violet and Willow were able to understand those jokes which he made in the company of her friends. Violet also loved the fact that the house which had been christened "Eternal Summers" in memory of her mother, who was Willow's best friend. Buffy summers had die when Violet had been 5 years old she hardly remembered her mother really unless she tried really hard to. Willow and Oz had moved in when Buffy had died and adopted her as their own. Although in her will Buffy had named Violets guardians as being Willow& Oz obviously, Xander& Anya, Tara& Giles, Angel& Cordelier and a man called spike who she never met. Because of this "Eternal Summers was never without visitor's all of her Guardians came to stay as of ten as possible and invited her to stay with them in her holiday's. She loved them all in different ways, Xander was like a big brother to her he made her laugh and understood her when she was down, him and Anya lived in New York and Violet would go and spend about a fortnight every summer with them. Anya had always confused her slightly she tried very hard to make sure that Violet experienced the proper teenagery experience's, much to her amusement and Xander's embarrassment. Tara was a second mother to her next to willow that was. She only lived a couple of blocks away and Violet often went there after school for a chat about school, boys and anything else she wanted to talk about Tara was so understanding and caring she had always been Violet's security blanket, who she had run to if any thing was wrong. Angel was dark tall and mysterious and what every girl needed in her life someone who willing to tear the head off of anyone who upset her. Cordeilia was different again; She lived in LA with Angel although they weren't a couple or anything. Violet knew that her mother and Cordeilia had never been that close really but they had respected each over and been fond of each other. Then there was Giles who was a bit older than the others except maybe Angel, Violet wasn't really sure how old he was especially since she couldn't remember his appearance changing at all in the whole time that she knew him. Giles lived in England, but he came over as often as he could to see them especially at Christmas time, he brought over his wife Clara and their daughter Aria who was 3 then as well. The only one of her guardian who she had never met was Spike, she didn't know anything at all about him except what willow had told him, that he and her mother had been friends and that when she died he had been torn apart and had moved away from Sunnydale and unable to return there because of all of the painful memories he had which surrounded the place. He moved around a lot and didn't have a steady address where he could be reached but he sent regular cards and letters to willow and the rest of them and Christmas cards/ Birthday cards and money to Violet. Violet had always had a surge of curiosity about this spike that she had never met.  
She had just reached the kitchen door, turned the light on and pressed the switch on the kettle on. When she thought that she heard a noise at the back door. She walked over to the door and pulled back the red checked drape which covered the window and peered out into the darkness, she knew better to unlock the door or step outside the house especially at night to see whether any one was out of there. She had been brought up in Sunnydale after all, where there was an obituary column in the high school yearbook. She scanned the back garden through the limited view of the window but decided that she must have imagined the noise as there was no sign of anyone out there and the security light had not come on as it would have if any one had come near the house. She replaced the checked drape so it covered the window and walked towards the sideboard where the kettle was slowly coming to boil. In the shadows of the house Spike sat on the top step of the stairs, which led down to the basement and lit his umpteenth cigarette of the night. He had come back several times over the last twelve years but this was the first time that he come close to being caught. It wasn't that he didn't trust Red or the others it was just that he wanted to see for himself, to be sure that Buffy's daughter was ok and that she was safe. After Buffy had died he had been glad that it had been Red and the Wolf who had taken her in, not that he didn't trust the other's he just knew that that was what she would have wanted/ Spike never really regretted his decision to leave. He had loved Buffy and Violet so much but when Buffy had died he had wanted to die as well, and whenever he looked at Violet who was an exact copy of Buffy except for her Blue eyes and her personality which were so like his own and so noticeable even in his 5 year old daughter. He couldn't have stayed, it killed his to look at her and bleeding hell, he was a vampire what kind of a father would he have made? Sunrise was approaching quickly as he stabbed out his cigarette and descended down the flight of stair, which led to the cellar and removed the key, which hung on a chain around his neck and unlocked the door before slouching inside. The first beams of sunlight were just breaking though the curtains in the lounge as violet sat and finished her camomile tea while looking through a photo album which held pictures of her mom when she had been about 16, she had looked so happy there hanging around with her friends. Violet really missed her and although she couldn't really remember her mom that well she did have memories of being with her like sitting on her lap while she brushed her hair looking in her vanity tables mirror. And there was the smell her mom had, it was really distinct and earthly violet used to breathe in really deeply whenever her mom hugged her and when she tucked her in at night, with Mr Gordo before singing her special night time song:  
  
"Rose petal's fall  
  
In Fairy land  
  
Falling into a river there  
The roses love is spread around  
Along the land although she's no longer there  
So catch your petal with both hands  
And never let it go  
Live your dreams with love not fear  
I'll be there watching you from the castle in the sky"  
  
Thinking about that song and the way her mom used to look while she sung it always mad Violet cry and trying to brushing away the sorrow she felt for missing her mom she brushed a tear which had managed to escape down her cheek before turning of the lounge light and walking back upstairs and climbing into bed. 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2  
  
Later that morning when violet had woken up again this time during the proper morning time of 8 o'clock she pushed the off the duvet and jumped out of bed and walked across the room and opened the door which led to her bathroom.  
  
After 10 minutes under the hot water she turned off the water and stepped out of the shower and pulled a massive towel around herself before brushing her teeth and walking back to her room to decide what she wanted to wear for the day.  
  
After looking in her wardrobe for about 5 minutes she finally decided on wearing a pair of light blue jeans and a black tank top and finished off the look by tying her blonde hair up into a French braid. And adorning her wrists with some silver bangles and a couple of her mother's rings, her favourite among them being the big silver one with the amethysts gem in it which her father had apparently given to her mother when for her 18th birthday.  
  
After taking one final look at herself in the mirror she stepped out onto the landing and bumped into Oz who was obviously on his way downstairs like her.  
  
"Oops sorry Oz" violet said with a grin on her face. "Don't worry bout it the waffles are calling to me," he replied with a grin on his face.  
  
The both basically ran down the stairs and into the kitchen where Willow was standing in a full-length emerald green skirt and a pink shirt. She smiled as she turned to look at her family.  
  
Spike was in the basement lying on the king size mattress which Buffy had brought down there for him to sleep on when he had first started spending the some nights there. Her mom had not wanted him to sleep in the house in case something happened but had agreed happily for him to sleep in the basement and she had after a while accepted her was down there and had given him some things to make the place more "liveable" as she had described it, such as the TV.  
  
After about 6 months he had moved in full time to live in the basement and what with Buffy living at the dorms her mom had started inviting up into the house more and more often just to watch the soaps with her or to have a chat or just for some company.  
  
Which he did not mind because he liked Joyce she always treated him like a man despite knowing the dark truth about what he really was.  
  
Over the months he had began to realise that Buffy had had an ulterior motive for moving him in there, and that was so that even though she wasn't living at home she could feel safe knowing that there was someone at home who was caring for her mother and dawn when she had come along.  
  
She had known that he loved her but she had also known that he knew how much her family meant to her and it was because he loved her she knew that he would die before he let anything happen to them.  
  
Her mom getting ill had weakened Buffy immensely and he hadn't been sure who he was more worried about; Joyce in hospital when she was having her treatment, Buffy when she went out slaying or the little bit who wasn't sure what to do as her whole world crashed around her/  
  
Buffy had moved back home then and he had expected to be chucked out of the basement and told to go back to his crypt, but that hadn't happened.  
  
She had come down to see him one evening, shut the door behind her and sat on the edge of his bed and waited until he woke up. When she looked at him straight in the eyes and told him that she needed his help.  
  
She had asked him if he would move into the spare room in the house so that he could help to care for Dawn so she could try to care for her mother.  
  
He had agreed without thinking twice he loved her and would do anything for her and her family which had basically come to adopt him over that time.  
  
Dawn especially had seemed to need him when her mother had died, she had been so angry and no idea what to do with or where to direct that anger.  
  
And Buffy his poor beautiful Buffy she had become almost broken, an empty shell when Joyce had died and then there had been that whole thing with Dawn and Glory.  
  
That had nearly broken him when he had had to watch her die knowing there was no way around it. When he had seen her lifeless body lying there it had been the first time he had cried proper tears since he had turned. He had fallen to his knees in front of her and had wept until he was weeping blood.  
  
Willow had taken a sharp intake of breath when violet had walked into the kitchen with oz. It still scared her sometimes how much violet looked like her best friend. This morning especially, her hair curled in exactly the same way as Buffy's, they were almost identical except for her eyes which were so like Spike's it was eerie, and the smirk she wore when she got her own way!  
  
Willow knew she was never going to forget the time when violet had been 7 it was the first time which Angel and Cordelier had been able to visit since the funeral, and Violet had called Angel peaches when he had walked through the door. She had thought that he was going to have a heart attack right then and there! The look on his face, he had gone so pale, but then again he was always pale and he didn't really need his heart to live except maybe where big pointy sticks were involved but she didn't think he could have a heart attack but had been worried all the same. Cordelier and OZ had laughed themselves silly and so had she when she eventually stopped worrying.  
  
It was a Saturday tradition for them to have Waffles for breakfast so as they sat down at the table and watched Violet put indescribable amounts of maple syrup on her waffles, Oz started to clear his throat and raised an eyebrow in violets direction, she giggled and said "Ok ok point taken." Put the maple syrup down and began to ravenously tear her waffles.  
  
Willow smiled at her and said softly "How did you sleep last night?" "OH um ok." violet started and then swallowed the waffles which was in her mouth and going on to say "I did wake up ad come down for a dup of camomile tea though, and though that I heard some one outside, but when I looked through the window there was no one there."  
  
Willow and Oz locked eyes at that, violet didn't notice though as she jumped up out of her chair, put her plate in the sink and hugged Oz, kissed willow softly on the head saying "I got to go now or I'll be late, me and Erin are going to the chick flick marathon at the cinema I don't want to be late and oh I promised Tara I'd go and see some time today say I won't be home til about 9 bye!" With that she ran out the door pulling her black cowboy boots on at the same time.  
  
"So." willow said after a moment. "Did you notice anything last night when you came in?" Oz looked thoughtful for a moment before answering "No but I sensed someone was watching me from across the road as I walked in and I also caught a scent I know it from somewhere but I just thought it was Mrs Macgolthan sitting at her window like normal." Willow smiled at Oz's werewolf abilities being able to pick all that up.  
  
She had finished her waffles so she took her plate to the sink and looking out of the window above the sink she said "I'm going to see if there are any signs of anything being out there."  
  
"Ok but be careful!" Oz said as he watched her go out of the door. Since they had moved in here when Buffy had died there had been several times when they'd had to go hunting around the house and kill things which were a direct threat although they had tried not to draw much attention to themselves and also to keep all this away from Violet.  
  
Buffy had not wanted her to know about her world, the world of Darkness until she had to. And although they had never told her out right about vampire they had told her enough for her to realise that she needed to be careful.  
  
They had given her the silver cross which angel had given Buffy on her 12 birthday and she always wore it no matter what. The had also given her a bottle of Holy water to carry around with her when she went out at night, telling her that it was one of willow's protection spells which she should throw on any one who attacked her. Thankfully she had never had to use it yet.  
  
Willow walked around the big back yard checking the gates for any sign of a forced entry there wasn't any. After walking all the way round the garden once more she decided that violet really must have imagined it but then as she past the steps that led down to the cellar she saw about two dozen cigarette stubs and the leaves at the bottom of the steps had been moved to one side as if the door had been opened.  
  
But she knew that only one person had the key to the basement and he had left hadn't he?  
  
"Spike?" willow whispered. 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3  
  
"Spike? Are you sure?" Oz asked her. "Yes I told you it must be him, there is only one key for that door and he wore it on a gold chain which Buffy gave him around his neck, it must be him." "Yes but Will remember that keys can be lost or dropped or even stolen hoe can you be so sure that it's him?"  
  
She looked at him for a minute they were back sitting at the table in the kitchen, he was worried she could tell, a deep frown was creeping across his brow, which only happened when he was worried.  
  
She looked deep into his hazelnut eyes and said "I know it's him Oz I can sense him in some way sense his pain, can't you?"  
  
He thought for a moment before saying "I guess so, I can sense something but I'm now sure what exactly."  
  
Willow looked down at the blue tablecloth, which she was fiddling with quickly before going on to say, "I think I should go down there just to see." "You're not going down there by yourself." Oz cut in swiftly. "I don't care if it is only the basement I'm coming down with you to check. If it is spike then, I'll leave you alone for the two for the two of you to talk but if it's anyone else then you'll leave and I'll tear the bastard limb from limb."  
  
Willow looked up at her husband and realised that there was no point in arguing with him, not when his inner wolf had taken grip, so she grinned and said, "Should we go now?" He nodded and she walked to the cabinet picked up a cross a bottle of holy water and a wooden stake sharpened to a point at one end. 


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4  
  
The two of them left the kitchen, Willow locked the door and gave the key to OZ who put it in his pocket and then they walked towards the steps, which led down to the basement.  
  
Spike was sitting on a chair in the darkest corner of the basement, watching the newest episode of his favourite soap "Passions", Hannah and Paul had just announced their engagement.  
  
He could sense them coming even before they had reached the steps, Wolf boy, he didn't want to know what he smelt like but red she had a unique smell of vanilla and strawberry and sandalwood.  
  
He got off his chair and strode towards the door and opened it using his vampire-enhanced speed, before the two people outside had even reached it. Willow was the first one to react to the situation, she jumped forward and put her arms around him and whispered, "Welcome Home" in his ear. He hugged her back for a minute and then let her go saying "Glad to see you Red and you." he nodded at Oz who nodded back and said "S'up man, I got to go call Dylan you ok babe?" the second part was directed at willow who looked at him and then looked at spike and said "Yeah I'll be fine" before watching him turn around and walk back up the stairs.  
  
"Well Red do you want to come in then," Spike asked her and once again she nodded and followed him inside the basement, she waited for him to sit down again in the same seat he had been sitting in before the interruption and she sat in the old comfy blue chair that used to be in the lounge before Joyce had died.  
  
She looked at him, looking at the nervous way which he was sitting staring at his hands before asking him, "Where have you been spike?" He looked up into her clear emerald green eyes, which showed nothing but compassion towards him before answering, "Any where but here mostly pet." He had a small smile on his face but nothing like the cocky smirk, which he normally wore.  
  
Willow smiled back and asked her second question "Was last night the first time you've come back?" Spike's head darted up at this and he said " My Baby did see me then? I was careless I know but last night when I saw her, she looked so much like Buffy I. I guess I just forgot myself, I ret and come and see her 5 or 6 times a year. Just to see her . Always round now like to see how excited she looks at her birthday party. try to make a little holiday of it.. See her and then visit Buffy, Joyce and the bit's graves." he said with a weak smile.  
  
Willow's heart contracted when she heard this, "Why didn't you tell us? You don't need to see her from the outside, you should have come in to talk to us, to her. she's missed you." "She doesn't even remember me pet." he said softly.  
  
"I wouldn't be so sure about that she must had learnt to call Angel "Peaches" off you cause no one else does and yet she does all the time, and it took us ages to persuade her not to call Xander whelp boy!"  
  
"She calls angel peaches?" he asked a smirk rose to his face.  
  
"Yes" willow said with a grin "It nearly killed him at first, I think the shock of it but I think he now prefers to think of it as a term of endearment from his little god daughter."  
  
His smirk deepened as he said " More of a ponse then ever then!"  
  
"And that! Whenever she gets her one way or wins and argument that's what she does, she smirks like you, so mister don't tell me that she doesn't remember you cause you now all the signs point to a yay on the remember daddy spike front."  
  
He laughed at last part and thought about how much he had missed willow on his journeys out of all buffy's friends she had been the one who accepted him the most.  
  
"I trust you pet, I just had to come back all the time to see if she was ok. I needed to that my baby. Buffy's baby was ok. she's all I got you know and it's torture to keep her away from me but she deserves better, she deserves normal. Knew that was all buffy ever wanted for her." He had a dull look on his face when he said that, and willow didn't know what to say to him it was true that all buffy had wanted for violet was for her to have the normal life which she had never been able to but she had also wanted spike to be part of her life, to be the loving father and confident which she knew was buried deep inside his dead heart.  
  
A couple of minutes of silence passed between them before willow asked,  
  
"Have you eaten yet?" Spike shook his head and said, " I was going to last night but I got so absorbed watching her drink tea? There was no time to go to the hospital or anything. Why?  
  
"Yell you should come upstairs I've got some in the fridge in my room. Angel's coming tomorrow and violet doesn't know well about his um. eating habits so we keep it up stairs."  
  
"Is she home?" spike asked quickly and willow shook her head. "She's gone out with one of her friends Erin, to see some girly movie in the cinema and then she stopping by Tara's on the way back so she shouldn't be back til about 9 which gives you plenty of time to have a good meal cause you look like you need it and a shower and do some laundry and then you'll be ready to meet her cause it's 5 now so that gives you loads of time."  
  
"I'll shower and I'll eat but I'm not staying to meet her, she doesn't need me any more meeting me again would only confuse her and mess up the new life which she's got." He said sharply as he stood up.  
  
They both walked towards the stairs on the inside of the basement and walked up them willow in front this time and knocked on the door at the top for Oz to let them into the house. Moments later they heard the key turning in the door and Oz was there he smiled but didn't say anything to them because he was on the phone.  
  
Willow walked out of the utility room which is where the door to the basement was, they hadn't gone down that way earlier just ot be sure that they wouldn't let anything into the house, from the utility room she passed through to the kitchen and then into the hall along the hall and up the stairs turning on her second left into her and oz's bedroom.  
  
The blinds where shut so when spike followed her into the room he was able to have a quick glance around it rather than having to dive straight into the wadrobe where the blood was. They had moved into Joyce's old room. It was painted a soft shade of cream now with chocolate velvet coloured drapes and bedspread with matching pillows on their king size four poster bed.  
  
It was all old fashioned and antique furniture through out the room there was a dressing table and stool and a small desk chez lounge.  
  
Willow let him have his little look at the room while she went into the wardrobe to get him something to eat.  
  
"which you like AB or O neg?" she shouted out into the room.  
  
"O neg please pet."  
  
"Ok she answered" she poured the blood into a cup which said "Wicca is as Wicca does" which she had gotten when she went to a Wicca convention with Tara the year before because she thought it was really cute and put it into the microwave. She heated it to the right tempreture and then checked it before going back out into her room and giving it to spike.  
  
"I hope it's the right temperature there's plenty in there if you want any more so help your self and then bathrooms right through that other door." She said with a smile  
  
"I've got to go and start dinner now but if you need anything just give me a shout ok?"  
  
"Thank you. for everything. I mean everything Red." 


	5. Chapter 5

Willow walked down the stairs and entered the kitchen where Oz was sitting at the table looking out of the window and still talking on the phone.  
  
He looked up as she entered and she smiled at him before going across to the cupboard on the wall behind him and taking out the big bag of rice, she then went over to the fridge where she took out tomato paste, celery, mushrooms, and courgettes.  
  
She then walked over to the sideboard next to window and put these items down before reaching up to the shelf above her and taking down a big steel sauce pan, filling it with water putting a sprinkle of salt in it and putting it on the hob to boil.  
  
She then turned back to the counter and began to chop up the vegetables.  
  
Oz had just finished his phone calls, he stood up and walked over to where willow was chopping up, and wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her neck softly before saying  
  
"You ok babe?"  
  
she turned to face him with his arms still wrapped around her and said  
  
"Yeah I'm good."  
  
"How was Spike"  
  
"He's ok, but I don't know he seems broken in away, he's upset about not being able to be in violets life but he's the only one who's stopping him from being in her life, I told him that I know she would want to have him here to be able to talk to him and I know that he would love to know her. but he wont. he keeps going on about how all Buffy wanted for herself was a normal life and how he know that's what she would want for violet. but I know and you know and even giles knows that Buffy wanted him to be in violet's life. and it's just. it's hard. I don't know what to say to him to make it better and I'm so scared that he's just going to up and leave again without seeing her. and I know that he needs to see her. and she needs to see him and I'm going on again aren't I?"  
  
She smile at him.  
  
"You can't make him do anything that he's not ready to do and maybe he is ready to tonight, maybe he's not , but he's here now so even if this is just a short stay over for a feed and shower it just shows that he's getting more confident in coming to the house which is a good thing."  
  
He looked at her for a minute then carried on to say "And well Violet will be home in half an hour, he hasn't even gone in the shower yet. so guesses are that he'll still be here when she gets home any way especially since I invited Tara to dinner with us they're going to be here earlier any way."  
  
Willow grinned again and said "Well I guess I'd better get busy making it then?" 


	6. chapter 6

"Rose petal's fall  
  
In Fairy land  
  
falling into a river there The roses love is spread around  
  
Along the land although she's no longer there  
  
So catch your petal with both hands  
  
And never let it go  
  
Live your dreams with love not fear  
  
I'll be there watching you from the castle in the sky"  
  
Spike was humming to himself while he was getting dressed after his shower, it was the song which Buffy used to sing to Violet when she was little, and they were putting her to bed just before they went out patrolling together, he always used to worry about leaving her at night to go out with Buffy no matter if Willow, Oz, Tara and Dawn were all in, but he wouldn't have let Buffy go out on her own, she had to much to live for now that he couldn't let anything happen to her.  
  
Buffy had loved it really, no matter how much she had complained about how she was a big girl or that she was the slayer or the threats which had normally followed including "You want a tan?" and "Don't say it unless you want a stake in your chest." She had wanted to company and he knew that she also knew that he only did it to try and protect her, she knew she had to live for violet and dawn, she had even started to go back to college in the day time the scobies helped her out a lot when it came to violet's pre school time table.  
  
That night, it had been his fault.. If only he hadn't have gone back to check on Violet early that night, it had been a really quiet night a quiet week in fact no sign of a demon or even a new born vamp it was beginning to become boring, quick five minute patrol and then off to get ice cream of to see Willow or Xander or whoever.  
  
Violet had been ill nothing serious normal kiddy stuff a ear ache and head aches because she hadn't been able to sleep properly at night, and he didn't like to leave her for long she got nervous when Mommy and Dada weren't there.  
  
He didn't like it when his baby was nervous or scared he would do anything for her, she was his soul incarnate, his world, his everything. Sometimes he thought that the one reason which he had be turned was so that he would live long enough to meet Buffy and have a child with her because everything about their family (he always felt a rush of pride and love when he said that, he had never in his long un dead life thought that he would have a blood tie a child born through his flesh not his blood.)  
  
Buffy had noticed him twitching and glancing at his watch ever since they had left the house she had had enough, she turned round and stood right in front of him her black leather calf length coat swishing in the wind  
  
"For god's sake spike goes home go check on her,"  
  
"I can't leave you here on your own pet."  
  
"Go!! Please the sooner you leave the quicker I'll be your making me nervous looking at you watch every other minute,"  
  
He had smiled and said  
  
"Are you sure love? You don't mind doing this on your own tonight?"  
  
"Spike honey I promise I'll be home soon but please just go will you before you make me kill you!"  
  
He had smirked and pulled her into a strong bear hug kissed her lightly on the lips and said  
  
"Be careful pet I love you. God you make me sound like peaches I can't believe I get this worried about you but I do so please don't stay out that long?"  
  
She had smile back at him and kissed him lightly on the cheek before saying  
  
"I promise."  
  
He had taken one last look at her before he had turned for home, not knowing then that that was to be the last time he would ever have seen her alive.  
  
He had gone home the short way, through west field cemetery; he had walked through the front door only to be accosted by a small white haired creature in a blue nightdress running towards him and wrapping her arms around his waist.  
  
"Dada! Where have you been where's mommy?"  
  
He bent down and picked up his beautiful little girl  
  
"What are you doing up at this time pet it's well past your bed time you know, and I've told you before that you've got nothing to be worried about if Mommy and Dada are out cause Aunty Willow, Aunty Dawn, Aunty Tara and Uncle Oz are home."  
  
"I know," she said snuggling into his chest "But I wanted you."  
  
He smiled at this "Well I'm here now pet so what say's we go back upstairs to your room and get you back into your warm cosy bed before you catch cold?"  
  
She nodded into his chest before saying, "Why are you always so cold dada?"  
  
He looked at her for a moment before saying "because I never listened to my Mommy and Dada when they told me to stay in bed in the warm."  
  
He walked up the stairs and met willow at the top who looked at him and said  
  
"Oh sorry Spike I didn't realise that she had gotten up again, would you like me to put her back to bed?"  
  
"No s'alrght pet you need some rest yourself go lie down with wolfie I'm sure he's waiting for you, me and my baby will be fine won't we pet?"  
  
Willow had smiled as she had seen violet nodding and then said  
  
"Night Night Violet, sleep tight, night Spike"  
  
And then she had walked to the room, which she and Oz shared.  
  
He had taken her into her room which was a small room opposite Dawn's, it was painted a beautiful yellow colour and was decorated with little butterflies on the wall which Willow had enchanted to fly around the room like tiny little lights at night to help violet sleep cause she didn't like the dark did his baby.  
  
He laid he down in her bed and pulled the patchwork blanket which dawn had made her over her and placed Mr Gordo on the pillow next to her before sitting on the chair next to the window and winding up the Wooden Music box which played the tune to Violet's song.  
  
"Rose petal's fall  
  
In Fairy land  
  
falling into a river there The roses love is spread around  
  
Along the land although she's no longer there  
  
So catch your petal with both hands  
  
And never let it go  
  
Live your dreams with love not fear  
  
I'll be there watching you from the castle in the sky"  
  
He had fallen asleep in the chair that night watching her sleep the next thing he knew he was being shaken awake at half past 6 in the morning by willow who was crying her eye's out, Buffy had been hit by a car just after he had left her she had died on impact the car had been going about 80m.p.h when it had her, she had had no chance.  
  
It had taken them so long to contact them because she had had not Id on her when she had been found. The only thing she had had as a marker was a silver id bracelet which spike had given her with her name "BUFFY" inscribed on it.  
  
He hadn't known what to say what to do he had just fallen to his knees and wept into willow's arms. 


	7. Chapter 7

Willow had just finished stirring the tomato paste and vegetables into the rice when she heard a key turning in the front door, she put the spoon she was using down and wiped her hands in the blue apron which she was wearing and walked towards the hallway to see who it was.  
  
It was Violet and Tara; Violet was unbuttoning her three quarter length denim jacket and hanging it on her hook, next to the door. Tara was standing in the doorway still nervous about doing something wrong or being rude in the house even though she had lived in it and was in and out of it basically every other day.  
  
Tara was wearing a black long sleeved t-shirt and a full length green and blue skirt she looked beautiful.  
  
Tara smiled at her when she entered and Willow went forward to hug her. They had had a relationship when they had been in college but that was over now, Willow had realised that she had never really stopped being in love with Oz, although it had hurt Tara to find this out but once she had realised that it was real and that Willow had found her true love in life she had been able after a while to begin to be friends again and now they were back to being best friends, Willow had often thought that they were closer now in these years later then they had been when they had been dating.  
  
Violet hugged Willow when she had finished hugging Tara and said, "Mmm is Dinner ready?"  
  
Tara laughed and said "Dear god you can't be hungry again, violet you had a massive ice cream when you came round mine and then you basically cleared out my larder."  
  
"I'm a growing girl what can I say?" Violet said with a grin "I guess I'm just lucky that I have a fast metobo thingy."  
  
"Metabolism?" Willow asked with a raised eyebrow  
  
"That's it, look me the girl with the fast Metabolism! Hand me your cookies and watch me not gain a single pound nope not one."  
  
They were all laughing now.  
  
"What's so funny?" Oz asked as he walked out of the hall and Willow started to explain to him and then said "Oh no my pie it'll be burnt!" and ran towards the kitchen.  
  
"So Tara how are you?" Oz asked grinning at the witch. It had taken him a while to get the used to the idea of his willow being gay for a while but had realised that since she had picked him over Tara and boy he had known how much she loved Tara then he was pretty safe.  
  
And so over some time had started to get to know her a bit better and now they got along brilliantly.  
  
"I'm good thanks." She said a little hesitantly  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
He asked knowing her better he than to believe her when she sounded a bit hesitant.  
  
"The shelves in her living room fell down, one fell then the others after it like boom boom boom massive noise and she was going to ask you to put them back up for her."  
  
Violet said grinning  
  
"Sure I'll do that you know me,ve to be handy fix it guy. tomorrow ok bout sixish? I got rehearsal in the day but if that's to late then I can come by earlier if you want?"  
  
"No six is good, thank you."  
  
"That's ok."  
  
He smiled at her and then turned his attention towards Violet saying "Have you had a good time?"  
  
"Yeah it was great, Eli and Paul turned up with Kelly so we had a great time, we nearly had to leave early though cause Kelly got into a fight with one of the usher's."  
  
"Was she ok?"  
  
"Yeah it was cool she talked to the manager who is like married to her cousin or something and her apologised for the usher being rude to us and gave us free refreshments and everything." She said grinning  
  
"Well that's good then. How bout you go clean up before Dinner?"  
  
"Ok,"  
  
Violet said grinning as she run up the stairs. It was like a tradition that she always had a clean up before she ate her evening meal and she would normally change her clothes it they looked scruffy it was like what they used to do in the 1930's or something but she enjoyed it.  
  
As she was running up the stairs she heard something she and not heard for a very long time.  
  
"Rose petal's fall  
  
In Fairy land  
  
falling into a river there The roses love is spread around  
  
Along the land although she's no longer there  
  
So catch your petal with both hands  
  
And never let it go  
  
Live your dreams with love not fear  
  
I'll be there watching you from the castle in the sky"  
  
it was a humming her song, the voice was like a ghost from the past.  
  
She knew that voice it had sung her to sleep when her mother had not been able to it was the voice that had sung her to sleep that night when she had gotten up the night her mother had died it belonged to the man who had carried her up the stairs, who chest she had snuggled up to it belonged to her father.  
  
"Dada?" 


	8. Chapter 8

Spike hadn't sensed her coming until it had been to late; he heard a voice outside the door saying dada and then the footsteps running back down the stairs and out of the front door.  
  
Spike stood for a minute wondering what to do and then turned out through the door and sprinted down the stair case, and out the open front door after her.  
  
"What was that?" Willow said from the kitchen as she heard the first set of foot prints running down the stairs, Oz was standing in the doorway of the kitchen and said it was Violet, then they heard spike running down the stairs after her, and that was spike he said as the blonde vamp sprinted out of the door following her.  
  
"Goddess !" willow shouted "She must have seen Spike and Run"  
  
"It, appears so." Answered Oz  
  
"Spike? What's he doing here?" asked Tara  
  
"He got here last night, he was hiding in the basement I brought him up into house earlier so that he could have a shower and something to eat cause he was starving."  
  
"Oh" said Tara "What should we do now?"  
  
Oz looked from Willow who was frozen in her seat at the table and Tara who was standing still and said "I guess there's only one thing that we can do and that is to wait here, they need to work this out,"  
  
"But what if he can't find her?" Willow asked standing up suddenly "What if something happens to her?"  
  
"Honey he's a vampire he'll find her, Pain, especially emotional pain like the sort Violet is feeling is something which you can sense on a person you would be able to sense it miles away."  
  
"But that means other vampires and demons will be able to sense it too" Tara interrupted Oz  
  
"Yes but Spike was going pretty fast fallowing her and he isn't about to loose her, he blames himself for leaving Buffy and for Dawn although that was not his fault, he is not going to loose the only link he has to Buffy , to himself she is everything to him, he would not let anything happen to him."  
  
"I guess your right" Willow and Tara said as they both sat down at the table.  
  
"All we can do is wait." Tara said as they all began to stare into space.  
  
A/n short chapter I know oh and by the way I thought that I had better do a Disclaimer now since I haven't done one before, I don't own anything at all to do with BTVS all the characters in it Belong to Joss although I wished they belonged to me!!!! The only characters which I own are Violet and her friends Erin etc... 


	9. Chapter 9

Violet didn't know what to do, she had no idea where she was going, and she just knew that she couldn't stay there in the house.  
  
How could he? He had left her, he had just walked out one night and left her, she had been what six? And he had left her without even saying good- bye; didn't he know how much he hurt her?  
  
She carried on running down Walnut Close before cutting across Oak wood and then stopping when she got to the kids play park.  
  
She walked over to the swings and sat down on one of them.  
  
She was violently crying now, the tears were coming down in a torrent and she was heaving finding it hard to breathe, She had never talked to any one about her father whenever any one like Willow had asked her if she remembered him she had always say no that she couldn't remember anything about him at all.  
  
But that had all been a lie, she remembered everything about him, the colour of his hair platinum blonde and the black leather duster which he always wore, the silky red shirts and the way he used to pick her up and absorb her into his chest when he carried her upstairs, even the way her used to stand up for her against any one, when she had made a mess or broken something he had used to take her side no matter what and she had always made him laugh, that was something not many people could do, he always looked so serious around her mom.  
  
He had loved her mom so much she could tell from the way he looked at her; even at that age she had known how deeply he loved her and how much her mom had loved him. She had always dreamed that one day she would find someone who would love her that much.  
  
But after her mom had died he lost that look in his eyes his once sparkly shinning eyes then had a dull glint he had even stopped laughing at her jokes and stories, she had hated to see him like that but he had left her. she had never really gotten over the pain which she had felt that morning when she had woken up and run into his room to say good morning and he had been gone, there was nothing of his in the room, when she had run downstairs to see if her was down there she had found willow in the kitchen making blueberry pancakes, and she had realised that he had gone he had really gone.  
  
Spike had tracked her all the way to the park. He hadn't known what to do in the house when he had first sensed her, He had been frozen unable to move until he had heard her running away, he hadn't thought twice he had just followed her.  
  
When she got to the park he hadn't known what to do, she had just sat down on the swing, she was in so much pain it was emanating off her in waves, he was watching her from the shadows now not sure what to do.  
  
She was so Vulnerable out here in the open with all the things that go bump in the night as he liked to call them. So he stood and watched her, her tears were becoming slower and her breathing was getting back to normal, as was her heartbeat, he decided to chance it.  
  
He left the shadowed area and walked towards the swings and sat on the one next to Violet without saying anything.  
  
She hadn't looked up or said anything but he could tell she knew he was there she had stopped knocking the swing back and for with her feet and was just sitting there quite still staring into space with her head bent towards the chain on the side furthest away from him.  
  
They just sat there like that in silence for a while before spike cleared his throat before saying "Hey." nervously with a slight wobble in his voice.  
  
Violet cocked her head slightly so the chain slid across her face and was balanced on her nose she was squinting at him through one of the links of the chain.  
  
"Hey" she said back quietly  
  
"So." spike said exhaling slowly "Um. How are you?"  
  
"How am I? Oh great question dad I'm just peachy keen I'm great marvellous haven't ever been better you know you leave me twelve years ago and then come back as if nothing's wrong at all and just expect me to be ok about it, you haven't tried to contact me since you left and then I come home from a day out and your just there? What am I meant to do, what am I meant to say?"  
  
She was crying again now spikes heart was bleeding he couldn't believe how much pain was emanating off her.  
  
He jumped up off the swing and said, "I'm so sorry I'm sorry. Pet I didn't mean to hurt you I only did it cause I thought that you would be better with out me."  
  
Violet jumped off the swing and said "I needed you thought dad.Every night I cried myself to sleep wondering when you were going to come home praying that when I woke up you would be there waiting at the bottom of my bed to pick me up and tell me that you loved me or sing to me or make me waffles but you weren't.. you were never there."  
  
" I left you cause you deserved better than me pet,"  
  
"I deserved you Dada, I needed you."  
  
"You didn't need me Violet, I'm a monster you didn't need me I didn't deserve you in my life it was my fault your mother died, if I'd have stayed you wouldn't have been able to look at me when you grew up and realised the truth."  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
"I'm a Vampire Pet, one of those things that go bump in the night."  
  
"Vampires aren't real dada"  
  
"Yes Pet they are, as real as I'm standing here"  
  
"And what was mom was mom a vampire to dad?"  
  
"No your mother was special your mother was the chosen one"  
  
"Uh huh the Chosen one, Chosen for what exactly?"  
  
"She was a slayer, from every generation a slayer is born she alone will battle the forces of darkness protecting mankind from evil, and your mom was the best one I've ever seen she was amazing pet."  
  
"What do you mean" violet asked in a small voice sitting on the swing again spike walked over to her swing and crouched down on the floor in front of her."  
  
"You mom was a warrior she was beautiful to watch, she thought with a passion and was driven by a force so pure that nothing evil was ever able to understand it"  
  
"What was it?"  
  
"It was love pet, the love she felt for you when you were born it was the most powerful thing you can imagine, it encircled her, you made her more powerful then any slayer I have ever seen."  
  
Spike was smile at her softly  
  
"When someone loves someone as much as your mom loved you it shows in everything that they do and Buffy was filled to the brim with love she loved Dawn she loved me but nothing could compare to how much she loved you. You were her power source her energy you were her soul, the only thing which kept her going when things were down it was you who cheered up."  
  
Violet looked into spike deep blue eyes, which were shining at her.  
  
"What about you, were you good or were you evil. I mean vampires always equals bad in the cinema's."  
  
"I'm bad, or rather I was bad. I was turned when I was 22 I lived in England and hated my life. I was a poet I had no friends really and lived with only my mother. Then after I had been to a function one night a woman her name was Cecily had upset me so much that I wasn't watching where I was going when I was walking home and I bumped into a group of people, they were to become my family Drusilla, Angelus and Darla. It was Dru who changed me. And I loved her for it; she was the love of my life for about 150 years a lot of things changed in that time Angelus became peaches."  
  
He broke off, and violet looked up suddenly and said "Angel? He's a vampire too?"  
  
"Yes pet, Angel is a vampire too although he is good he has a soul."  
  
"One day me and Dru decided to have a stop over here in Sunnydale for a bit of mayhem and the works. That's when I met your mom she was only a kid then. Barely your age and I was obsessed at first sight, she was the ultimate fight I had ever had, and I had never met any one who fought like her it was with a passion. I never understood it then like I do now."  
  
"What happened?" Violet asked enthralled by the story.  
  
"I left with Dru not after breaking your mom though. She was in love with Angel then, she loved him despite everything and he loved her and he lost his soul because of it some sort of stupid snag or something well dru had decided that she wanted to end the world as she did a lot back then she was a psycho was dru. She had found this demon that would open a portal to hell and suck the whole earth into it. I only helped her out of love I mean I had been to hell I didn't really want to go back there but she and Angelus had it all worked out and they opened the portal but buffy came in and beat them back, but there was one way which she could stop the demon and that was Angelus blood. He had hurt her so much when he had lost his soul terrified her friends and family Giles especially, he murdered someone who Giles really loved a descendant of the gypsy who put the original curse on him. Willow found the curse on one of her files and worked her witchy mojo. And brought his soul back only snag was it came back to late and so your mom had to kill the man she loved."  
  
Violet looked at him speechlessly and said, "What happened?"  
  
"Your mom took left here for a while she never actually told me where she'd gone but I knew that something happened out there to change her for the better she grew up a lot and when she came back was more able to deal with everything especially when Angel came back."  
  
Spike looked at his baby she was so tired he could tell, "Pet I think that's enough for now you can hardly keep your eyes open lets go home and you need to rest."  
  
Violet looked up at him for a moment and said "Will you still be here in the morning, in the house I mean, your not going to leave me again are you?"  
  
spike looked at her for a couple of minutes before saying, "I'm never going to leave you again luv I promise you that I will never leave you again."  
  
"Ok dada lets go home" she said as she stood up and collapsed emotionally exhausted into his arms.  
  
He pulled her into him tightly pushing her head up slightly so that it balanced softly in the curve of he shoulder. He looked at her for a moment and thought to himself, how could I ever have left her she's my baby I should have known that she would need me, just like Buffy needed me and I swear by the stars above that I will never leave her again as long as I live. And then he started back across the road on the short walk home. 


	10. Chapter 10

Spike got back to "Eternal Summers" about quarter of an hour later and knocked on the door very lightly shifting violets weight slightly so that he could do that without waking her up from the sleep, which she so desperately needed after the night which she had just had, she looked so much like Buffy it was eerie.  
  
Willow, Oz and Tara were sitting in the lounge watching the TV, when they heard the knock at the door they all exchanged a quick glance and Oz stood up and walked towards the door, he looked out of the peephole and seeing that it was Spike he opened the door.  
  
Spike walked into the foyer and nodded at him and said "I'm going to go put her in her room a minute tell them not to worry she's ok." He said looking at Willow and Tara who were looking nervously at Violet's unconscious form in his arms.  
  
He walked up the stairs and turned to the second door on the right, this had used to have been Dawn's room, but you wouldn't have known that looking at it now, when dawn had been alive this room had been painted white and had pictures of all her Buffy and her mom and her adopted family willow and xander and the gang, but now it was painted purple and not just any purple it was violet, it was the only thing which he had ever seen in his entire life and known immediately what colour it was.  
  
The bed was massive and had a indigo blue quilt set on it, it had a white metal frame kind of old fashioned looking with hats and scarf's hanging over the bed knobs.  
  
It was cluttered but not messy, he liked it, and he knew that Buffy would have to. He pulled back the duvet and laid her down in the bed he then sat on the edge of it and unzipped the zip's on her boots and slid them off, he pulled off her pink fishnet socks and pulled the bobble out of her hair and undid the braid before pulling the quilt over her and started to walk towards the door before stopping by her desk where he saw the carved wooden music box which played the tune to her song and sat back down on her bed and sang her song to her softly  
  
Rose petal's fall  
  
In Fairy land  
  
Falling into a river there  
  
The roses love is spread around  
  
Along the land although she's no longer there  
  
So catch your petal with both hands  
  
And never let it go  
  
Live your dreams with love not fear  
  
I'll be there watching you from the castle in the sky"  
  
He kissed her on the fore head quickly and then walked towards the door turning off the light and shutting the door softly so as not to wake her up again. When he got back down he felt like he was on trial.  
  
Willow was waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs and said to him,  
  
"What's wrong with her what did you do?"  
  
He looked at her for a moment and then walked through to the lounge where Tara and Oz were sitting.  
  
He took a seat on the sofa and took a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it before looking up and seeing three expectant faces looking at him.  
  
"She ran to the park on Oak wood, I followed her and we talked she cried we talked so more and then I could tell she was tired so I said we should go home and she collapsed in my arms, there's nothing wrong with her apart from that I swear to you, Willow you know that I would never hurt her."  
  
Willow looked at her for a minute and then said "I know that spike." Then looking at the others she said, "We all know that spike"  
  
He grinned at them and said, "She's amazing isn't she? She's got the same raw passion as Buffy had, she's so perfect I can't believe that there's any of me in there."  
  
"Well you better believe it Mister." Willow said softly before turning to the others and saying "Tara would you like to stay here tonight? It's getting really later after all."  
  
Tara looked hesitant for a minute and then spike said "If you want luv I'll always walk you home keep the baddies at bay and the rest."  
  
"Um. I'd like that please, it's not that I don't want to stay Will it's just Clara is phoning me later to tell me what to get Aria for her birthday and everything."  
  
"Tara you don't need to be worried about upsetting us if you want to go home then you can go home, but always remember that you are more than welcome to stay here if you to need to isn't that right OZ?"  
  
"Absolutely" Oz said grinning.  
  
Tara smiled at them both and said "Thank you I know that."  
  
Spike looked up and said, "Well if your ready pet we'll go now."  
  
"Yeah I'm ready thanks"  
  
She stood up and hugged willow and oz "thanks for inviting me Will, Oz I had a great time."  
  
Spike held the door open for Tara as they the house. The walk home was quiet; it only took a couple of minutes for them to get to Tara's house, as it was only a couple of blocks away.  
  
Spike waited while Tara opened found the keys and unlocked the door and turned the lights on and everything.  
  
Tara turned to spike and was just about to thank him for walking her home when he turned to her suddenly and said.  
  
"Thank you Tara, I know we didn't know each over that well but thank you for all that you have done not for me but for violet."  
  
She looked at him and said "it was nothing Spike I love her like she was mine just like I did dawn." She added sorrowfully.  
  
"Don't blame yourself, it was not your fault, it was no one's fault." Spike said  
  
"She took the book it wasn't like you gave it to her, you weren't to know what she was going to try and do."  
  
"But it was our fault mine and Willow we did it before the last time Buffy died if we hadn't have done that then she would never known that it was possible."  
  
Spike interrupted her  
  
"Don't ever say that you shouldn't have brought buffy back that time, if you hadn't have brought her back then. then Violet would never have been born. So don't ever regret doing that, I don't and I know Buffy never blamed you and she wouldn't have blamed you for Dawn either. She wasn't strong enough. the power of the forces were to much for her. it was the power which killed her not you."  
  
"I know" Tara said crying  
  
Spike hugged her and said, "Never blame yourself. Please I know it hurts, it has killed me thinking about it for the last 12 years and I've realised that I needn't be worried about any of them any more, there at home, there with Joyce. Joyce. when she died, nothing was the same for them again. Buffy fell apart and Dawn was so upset but they worked through it, and they're together now and they're watching down on us."  
  
Tara looked up at him and said, "Do you really think so?"  
  
"I know so Duck's, so don't ever feel sorry for them again, they're together."  
  
"Are you going to be alright here tonight, now" spike asked as he looked at her, she had stopped crying.  
  
"Yeah I'll be good, you better go back they'll be getting worried about you"  
  
He looked at the clock on the wall it was quarter past three. "Your right I better get going, if you need anything at all ring me I don't mind what time it is ok."  
  
He got up and walked towards the door.  
  
"Get yourself to bed soon Ducks, you look like you need a sleep almost as much as violet."  
  
He turned and walked out towards the door and turned back to wave.  
  
He walked home quickly and unlocked the door with the other key, which was on his chain.  
  
The first thing he saw was like a déjà vu moment it was a blur of blue running towards him from the bottom of the staircase.  
  
It was violet in a blue nightdress she was running towards him.  
  
"Pet what are you doing up now, it's late? And you were dead to the world."  
  
She looked up at him and said, "I know but I woke up and got changed and then I wanted to talk to you but I couldn't find you and you promised me that you'd be here and you weren't"  
  
Tears were welling up in her eyes.  
  
He cocked his head to one side and said "I know pet but I had to walk Tara home it's not safe for young woman to walk home on her own, gentle man should always walk a woman to the door. Remember that Baby when you go out ok."  
  
"Yes dada." She said softly.  
  
"Now I think that it's time for you to go back up to beds don't you baby?"  
  
"Yes dada" she said yawning, she started walking up the stairs again before turning round and saying "I love you Dad."  
  
He looked at her and grinned in a way, which he hadn't done since his, Buffy had died.  
  
And walked towards the couch in the living room to lay down his head for the best night sleep he had for twelve years he was finally happy he was finally home. 


	11. Chapter 11

The next morning when Violet woke up she couldn't help but think had it all really happened or had it just been a dream?  
  
When she was younger she had dreamed so many times of her father coming home, but had he really come home this time or had it just been a really vivid dream?  
  
She thought about the previous nights excursions to the park for a couple of minutes and then decided that it couldn't have been a dream because it had just seemed so real, it was real she finally decided as she got up and put her pale green bath robe on and her blue fluffy slippers.  
  
It was still early, only nine o'clock, which was early for any one to be up in this house especially on a Sunday. But she was awake now and she knew that no matter how hard she tried she would not be able to go back to sleep.  
  
So she opened her door as quietly as she could and continued to go down the stairs as quietly as possible although she slipped slightly at the bottom and knocked her knee against the wooden banister.  
  
She stood in the doorway of the lounge, he was still here she let out a sigh of relief he really was here, he wasn't going anywhere, he had promised he would be here and he was.  
  
She tried to sneak past him and go to the kitchen but just as she was turning to leave he spoke up saying  
  
"Morning pet isn't it a bit early for you to be up especially considering you were still up at about half three this morning."  
  
He had moved, hadn't even opened an eye and yet he had known she was there.  
  
"I'm sorry if I woke you up." she said quickly "I didn't mean to I was just um. I just wanted to check that you were really here. just to be sure that I hadn't.you know imagined you being here last night," blushing a deep red colour.  
  
"Of course I'm still here pet." He said sitting up suddenly, "I promised you I would be and I'm here, so now what does my baby like to eat for breakfast then?"  
  
"Well on Sunday's I normally just have toast or cereal"  
  
"Well then which would you prefer today then?" he asked standing up and pulling on his red shirt over his black t-shirt and jeans which he had slept in.  
  
"Um I think I'll have toast this morning, what about you what would you like?"  
  
"I'm going to have the same as you. Now you sit down and make yourself comfy and I'll be back in a minute with the food."  
  
Violet moved to sit on the couch and turned on the TV to watch the Sunday morning shows they weren't really that good but it was the only time on the weekend which she really watched the TV.  
  
Spike walked down the hallway and towards the kitchen, when he opened the door he was confronted with rays of bright sun light beaming in at him through the open drapes.  
  
"Bleeding hell," he shouted to himself as he dived back into the shadows of the hall.  
  
"Violet! Violet! Will you come here a minute" he shouted  
  
She nearly scared him because by the time he had finished shouting for her she was next to him she's obviously inherited Buffy's speed and quick reflex's he thought to himself.  
  
"What's wrong dad?" she asked quickly when he had shouted she had been afraid that something was really wrong but she couldn't see anything the matter not in the kitchen any way, it was a bright and shining day.  
  
"I can't. will you." he began embarrassed slightly at having to admit a weakness of his so early on in his relationship with his daughter.  
  
"What is it?" she asked looking at him he wasn't at her he was looking at the floor it was like he was ashamed to look at her or something.  
  
"It's the sunlight pet. Creature of darkness and all that. I can't go out into the sunlight. if I do then this happens." he stuck his arm out into the kitchen until the smoke start to rise off it.  
  
"Ooh she said suddenly I'm sorry I didn't know." And she ran into the kitchen and pulled down all the blinds coating the whole kitchen into darkness.  
  
"Is that better?" she asked looking at him nervously.  
  
"Yes pet that's better, thank you." He said as he walked into the kitchen.  
  
Violet turned to look back at him as she walked out of the kitchen,  
  
"You don't need to be embarrassed about your limitations in front of me dad, it doesn't matter do me. I'm not looking for you to be some kind of hero for me; I just want you to be my dad, imperfections and everything. Just you,"  
  
And then she walked out of the room and back to the lounge Spike stared after her for a few minutes gob smacked at what she had just said to him.  
  
He couldn't believe how perfect his daughter was. Not many people would be able to accept someone like him.  
  
He then started to move round the kitchen again getting the bread out of the bread bin turning on the grill and making sure that he didn't burn the toast.  
  
Willow came downstairs while he was halfway through his effort of making breakfast.  
  
"Morning Red!" he said cheerfully looking at the red haired witch sitting at the table in front of him.  
  
"Good night sleep?"  
  
"Yes thanks spike," she answered yawning. "Are you making toast?"  
  
Spike smiled and said "Yes pet I am would you like some?"  
  
"Uh yeah please if it's not to much trouble, got a lot to do today and not much time to do it in."  
  
Spike looked up from buttering the mounds of toast in front of him  
  
"Why what's happening today pet? Anything I can help with?"  
  
Willow stifled a yawn and answered "Giles, Clara and Aria are flying in today from London?"  
  
Spike passed her a plate with three pieces of toast on it and said,  
  
"Who's Clara and Aria, his sisters or something?"  
  
"Oh I forgot Spike you wouldn't know would you? Clara is Giles wife they got married about nine years ago and Aria is their little girl she's three now."  
  
"So the watched got married then?" said spike with a grin  
  
"Yep"  
  
"What's she like?"  
  
"Clara? Oh she's lovely she's from England to not as stiff upper lippy as Giles used to be. They run a bookshop together it deals with Magical and Demonological texts it's quite profitable from the sound of it, they get orders from all over the world."  
  
Spike disappeared out of the kitchen and walked into the lounge handing Violet a massive plate filled with steaming hot buttery toast,  
  
"Here you go pet, eat up you need your strength."  
  
She smiled at him and took the plate, thanking him before looking back at the television.  
  
He re- entered the kitchen just as the kettle was boiling for Willow's cup of tea.  
  
He smiled at her and said, "Where are they going to be staying?"  
  
She looked at him and grinned, "Giles and Clara will sleep in the spare room next to mine and Oz's"  
  
"You to better behave then, the watcher might have turned into a listener."  
  
"Ugh Spike that's gross" willow said and threw a tea towel at him.  
  
"I know but any way," he said trying to carry on, "Where's Aria staying?"  
  
"Aria's going to be staying with Violet in her room, then tomorrow Xander and Anya will be arriving from New York, they're staying with Tara though. And then on Tuesday it's Violets 18th birthday so we're having a big party here in the night inviting all her friends and everything."  
  
"You sound busy then pet," spike said sitting down on the opposite side of the table to her and biting into his piece of toast.  
  
"Yeah." she said blowing on her tea  
  
"I was wondering, though spike whether you would like to go into the second guest room upstairs.the one next to Violet's. of course it's ok if you don't want to do it's just the lounge is going to be filled with people over the next couple of days so I'm not sure how much sleep you are really going to get in there."  
  
He looked down at his toast for a minute and then looked up at her meeting her gaze and said "Yeah I'll go and move my stuff in their right now."  
  
And with that he walked out the door and up the stiars. 


	12. Chapter 12

Violet finished eating her toast and turned off the TV, she went out to the kitchen to put her plate In the sink and said good morning to willow and then went upstairs had a shower and pulled on a pair of cropped khaki jeans and a cream thin cotton jumper.  
  
After tying her hair up into a bun and making her bed she went along the hall and knocked on the door next to hers where spike was unpacking.  
  
"Come in!" he shouted through the closed door.  
  
Violet turned the handle and walked in "Are you busy?" she asked nervously  
  
He looked at her and answered "I'm never to busy for you baby, why?"  
  
She sat down on his bed and said, "I don't know I just felt like talking that's all"  
  
He put the shirt he was holding onto a hanger and into the wardrobe before sitting on the bed next to her "Well what do you feel like talking about then pet?"  
  
She looked at him for a moment and grinned saying "Everything, I want to know about you, and mom and. well yeah everything really!"  
  
He grinned at her and said, "Well ask me anything you want to ask and I'll answer it as best as I can pet."  
  
"When did you meet mom?"  
  
He looked at her for a minute and said "Well lets see, the first time I met your mom has got to be the night when me and the gang I was with broke into the high school on parent teacher night and we had set are hearts on having a major kill, was really shocked to see the slayer, your mom there if I'm honest not many slayers really tend to stick out to long once their well chosen. She was amazing that night didn't really notice it at the time but now when I look back she was so organised she hid everyone she could, locked them in cupboards and rooms mostly but couldn't get to everyone in time. She was crawling around in the pipes in the ceilings checking on everyone she could and then Angelus turned up well really I should say Angel cause he was cursed, he came in holding the whelp.um. well I guess that would be xander to you and pretended that he wasn't cursed and was going to eat him he thought I didn't know can you believe that I mean how would I not know he was my sire well my grand sire but if we're going to be correct."  
  
Violet was staring at him transfixed in his story but interrupted only to ask,  
  
"What's do you mean he was your sire, what is a sire?"  
  
He looked at her for a moment and said "Sorry pet I forgot that you weren't totally up on all the crucial vamp terms, a sire is the one who turns you, my sire is Drusilla, cause she's the one who turned me, Angelus was her sire so he is my grand-sire, Get it?"  
  
She thought for a moment and said "yeah so it's kind of like being born into a different family when you become a vampire?"  
  
"I couldn't have put it better myself pet, cause that's exactly what it's like, being born again."  
  
He grinned at her for a moment and said "So where was I?" thinking for a moment "Oh yeah, So angel had come back pretending that he was all bad again, saw right through it all though. A couple of minutes later after Angel got into some fight with a couple of my minions I was walking around looking for a buffy I could hear he up above me and was following her as best as I could then she fell out of the roof it was kind of funny now I think back to it cause like one minute she was there next she was on the floor we all stood their dazed for a couple of minutes and then she jumped up and attacked, she was good and quick but not quick enough we fought hand to hand for a while and then I got her caught in a strangle hold, thinking oh yeah I got me a slayer and then suddenly out of no where your grand mother, Joyce another amazing woman by the way, comes out of no where and cracks me across the head with a fire extinguisher. That was it then we left the papers blamed everything on drugged up yobs."  
  
Violet sat still for a moment "Did you realise you love mom then?"  
  
Spike looked at her and said "Pet what you have to understand is that I was. am a vampire it's in my nature to hate the slayer, I had killed two earlier in my life, and no I didn't love your mom then I had a respect for her but at that time I thought. no I was in love with Drusilla. It wasn't until a couple of years later that I realised I loved your mother. Ok?"  
  
She looked thoughtful for a moment and said, "Ok" and smiled at him.  
  
She then looked as if she was going to as him another question but he interrupted her saying, I've told you something about me but now I want to know something about you.  
  
"OK." She said brightly, "What do you want to know?"  
  
"Well lets see." he said thinking or a moment, "why don't you tell me about your friends?"  
  
"My friends? I've only got a small group of close friends really so it wont take that long to go through them all! Well firstly my best friend is Erin, you might remember Erin, they moved next door when I was about two?"  
  
He thought for a couple of seconds and said, "Yeah I think so her mom is an food critic or something isn't she and her dad's an estate agent?"  
  
"Well her mom was a food critic, she died about 3 years after mom when I was 8 while she was giving birth to Erin's younger sister Kayleigh, Kara and Johanna."  
  
"Oh I'm sorry pet, was she alright?"  
  
"Yeah she's fine now, she was so upset at the time though, but it kinda made us closer as friends, cause I was the only one who could really understand what she was going through at the time because I had been through myself with mom. Then there's Hayley I met her in middle school and we've been friends since, she's really funny but sometimes she gets on my nerves cause she can be to in your face, do you know what I mean? Ok um then I guess it would be Alex he lives round the corner, the three of us, me Erin and him used to go swimming class together when we were about 6 so we've been friends for like ever, Pete well he's really tall plays tennis for the school and is really bad at history Mrs Loy said that she might send him back to the first grade if he doesn't buck his ideas up a bit before finals."  
  
"Sounds like a good collection of friends you've got their pet I'm glad you've got good friends, you don't get pushed round by anyone now do you?"  
  
She smiled at him for a minute before saying  
  
"I used to in Junior high by the Jocks and some of the cheerleaders, especially one of them his name was Anthony, he used to be really horrible to me and Erin saying stuff bout our mom's and stuff.."  
  
Spike stood really quickly and said, "What did he used to say bout Buffy Violet? I'll kill him, I swear to god I'll kill you just tell me where this wanker lives now!"  
  
Violet looked at him for a moment and then started to laugh. "What are you laughing at pet I'm not kidding."?  
  
She smiled at him and said "Sorry it's just now I know that you and Angel are related,"  
  
"What do you mean about me and peaches?" spike said pacing up and down across the room looking suddenly very confused.  
  
"Well Angel was down from LA with Cordy and they had taken me out on a shopping trip as like a back to school thing, and Anthony was out with his little whore, Amy hanging off his arm and started shouting stuff at me from across the road, I was just ignoring him and carrying on looking at clothes with Cordy in the window of this shop, when after a couple of minutes he moves on to shout stuff at me about Mom and Angel turns to Cordy and says he's had enough of this and walks across the road to where Anthony was standing and held him up by his neck against the wall brushing Amy aside and saying that if he or any of his friends ever said anything about me or my family again then he would take great pleasure in breaking every bone in his body and leaving him in a place where even the vultures wouldn't find him, he then turned to Amy and told her to stop gawping at him, dropped Anthony on the floor and walked back across the road where me and Cordy were standing speechlessly watching before bursting into laughter."  
  
Spike had sat back down in the middle of the story and his face had changed, displaying different emotions throughout it, he wanted to kill that kid Anthony who had said stuff about his baby And Buffy but had also felt appreciation towards Angel for acting the way he did, he knew how much Angel had loved Buffy she had been one of the only things that would bring out his temper he would not stand for anybody to say anything about her in a disrespectful of hurtful way.  
  
Violet was worried he hadn't said anything, she had finished her story and he hadn't said anything.  
  
"Dad?" she asked nervously  
  
"Huh oh pet sorry I was just thinking, s'all. This guy hasn't tried anything since then and neither has none of his friends have they cause I will kill them if they have and I'm sure from the sound of it peaches will help me."  
  
"Nope they haven't."  
  
They sat in silence for a couple of minutes until they heard another knock at the door, "Come in!" they both shouted at the same time.  
  
The doorknob turned and Willow appeared at the door.  
  
"Violet have you made up the cot in your room for Aria to sleep in?"  
  
"No, what time is it?"  
  
"It's ten to six." Willow answered cheerfully, they had been talking she could tell and she was glad about it, it was good for them to talk, they needed to especially after all that they had been through. They needed to get to know each over again.  
  
"Ten to six!! Sorry will I didn't realise it was that late." Violet said as she jumped up off spikes bed and ran into willow's room to get the spare bedding for the tiny little cot.  
  
"Hey spike how are you?" willow asked as she sat down on the bed in violets place.  
  
"I'm doing ok thanks love it's just that it's hard you know, I've been telling her about everything, we just have so much to say to each other, I've been telling her about Dru and Angelus and Buffy. And she's been telling me about her friends and some poofter called Anthony."  
  
Willow looked at him for a moment and said "I'm sorry we never explained to her about you spike we never told her about vampires or about Buffy being the slayer, it just I don't know. we just wanted to try.. And."  
  
"Look Red," spike interrupted suddenly "It's ok, I didn't want her know about any of that, that's why I left. But know I'm back and she's so much older I don't it just feels right to tell her all about it I mean I think that Buffy would want her to know now, now that she's old enough to deal with it all." Willow answered, "I'm sure your right spike, in fact I know you are."  
  
"And by the way are you going to tell her about the time when you kidnapped me and Xander and threatened to stick a glass bottle in my face until it reached my brain?" She asked with a smirk  
  
"When the bleeding hell did that happen?" Spike asked suddenly livid "What? I. I really don't remember that. and Christ that's something you would expect me to remember isn't it?"  
  
Willow laughed at him for and said "I didn't think you remembered that, you were so drunk you had driven up from Brazil to do a spell cause Dru had left you. You took Xander and me and locked us in the old factory and I think you must have forgotten about us cause you never came back. Oz& Cordy found us in the end."  
  
"So that's were I went when me and Dru broke up all I remembered was waking up in an ally in LA without any memory of how I had gotten there from Brazil!"  
  
He laughed for a couple of moments and then went dead quiet.  
  
"I didn't do anything to you did I pet?"  
  
Willow looked at him and said "You thought about it but I managed to persuade you not to."  
  
Spike looked at the petite red head and said "God I must have been bleeding drunk cause back then I didn't care a rat's arse about any of you."  
  
He started laughing again,  
  
"What are you laughing at this time?" Willow asked him  
  
"It's just the idea of you persuading me not to something, I mean back then I was the big bad and you were just some scared little girl how the hell did you manage to do it?"  
  
She looked him squarely in the eye and said, "I gave you my resolve face."  
  
This only made spike howl with laughter and he nearly fell off the bed.  
  
"Your resolve face pet? I must have been pissed it that's all it took to stop me!"  
  
"Well you did say you would kill Xander if I didn't do what you said, and then you fell over."  
  
Spike did fall of the bed this time.  
  
OZ walked into the room only to find his Willow sitting on spike's bed glaring at him while spike was rolling around on the floor howling with laughter.  
  
"You making with the funny's babe?" oz asked her  
  
Willow grinned and said "I was just telling about when he kidnapped me and Xander and left us in the factory, he asked if he tried anything on with me and I told him the truth that he had tried to but I persuaded him not to. And he seems to have found that to be the most hysterical thing he has ever heard!"  
  
Oz shuddered for a moment he still remembered that day in the factory when he had found willow lying on top of Xander he had to calm himself a moment because it still hurt to think of it so brushing the memory to the back of his mind he said.  
  
"We're going to have to go to the airport in a minute babe to get Giles &co."  
  
"Ok, Spike?" She asked addressing the hysterical vampire,  
  
"Would you like to come to the airport with us to pick up Giles or do you want to stay and help Violet tidy up?"  
  
Violet came strolling in at this moment just as Spike was collecting himself And asked, "what's going on?"  
  
Spike started to look as if he was going to explain it again but burst into laughter,  
  
Willow looked at him for a moment and said "I was just walking down memory lane with spike s'all babe ok now are you going to get changed, and will you keep an eye on the lasagne while I go to the airport with Oz to get Giles and Clara?"  
  
"Yeah of course how much longer does it need in the oven?"  
  
"About thirty minutes. I think your father is staying here so if you need anything ask violet ok spike?" she said with an amused smile on her face.  
  
Spike stood up and said "ok red see you later, bye Oz!" as the two left and then turning to violet said "Now hadn't you better go and get ready?" 


	13. Chapter 13

Violet turned up the stairs and walked into her room where she had a shower in her bathroom and then walked into her room deciding what to wear. She decided that she shouldn't get to dressed up but she didn't want to look scruffy so she settled on a black three quarter length skirt with black ribbon going around the hem, and a semi fitted bright pink shirt, she finished off the look by brushing out her hair and leaving it loose settling in its naturally semi curled way. She put on a spray of the perfume, which Clara had sent her from London earlier that month and then went down stairs to check on the lasagne.  
  
Spike was in his room; he had just had a shower in the main bathroom and was now putting on a clean pair of black jeans a tight black t-shirt and a blood red silky shirt. He cast a look down at himself just to see whether he looked ok, that was one of the things he hated most about being a vampire not having a reflection how the bleeding hell was he supposed to know if he looked ok without being able to see himself.  
  
He violet walking downstairs and decided he would go down and help her set the table for dinner.  
  
He walked downstairs and turned to the kitchen he stood in the door way and watched her it was as if the wind had been knocked out of him she was beautiful she looked exactly like buffy.  
  
Violet turned round to look at the door as she heard a noise and saw her dad standing there just staring at her  
  
"Are you going to help me or watch then?" she asked good-naturedly.  
  
"What do you want me to do pet?" he asked her moving closer to where she was standing,  
  
"Could you get the best plates down from that cupboard?" she asked pointing to a cupboard at the opposite end of the room to her,  
  
"I can't reach up there"  
  
"Sure pet, where should I put them?"  
  
"On the table please, I've just got to put the mats out."  
  
She said as she pulled open a draw and grabbed a handful of pink silky place mats with cute cat pictures sewn onto them.  
  
She laid them out on the table in the dining room and spike followed her out by putting a plate on each matt, violet was in the kitchen giving the wine and water glasses a quick wash, the door bell went, Spike looked towards and shouted  
  
"Baby are you expecting any one?"  
  
"Um no I don't think so." She answered him still washing the glasses.  
  
Spike made a move towards the door, he knew he was probably being paranoid but he didn't like this.  
  
He opened the door quickly and found a teenage girl out there, there were tears swimming down her face and she had a black eye and bruises appearing elsewhere on her face, she was slightly built and was wearing light blue jeans had a black jumper and a denim jacket on and in her hand she held a bag which looked like it had just had clothes stuffed into it on the spur of the moment.  
  
The girl looked up at him and looked scared, she started to mumble something and then violet appeared in the hall behind him.  
  
"Oh my god, Erin!" violet shouted as she pushed past spike and pulled the girl into the house. "What happened who did this to you?"  
  
The girl just looked at violet and then she collapsed spike caught her in his arms before she hit the floor and said,  
  
"What am I doing with her pet?"  
  
Spike asked, the girl weighed hardly anything  
  
Violet looked at him for a minute before saying "bring her upstairs she can stay in my room, I'll bring her bag."  
  
Violet grabbed Erin's bag and ran up the stairs with spike following with Erin in his arms. She opened her bedroom door and Spike laid Erin out Carefully on her bed.  
  
"Do you have any idea how she could have got into this state?" Spike asked as he looked at the girl lying in front of her she had been through the mill from the look of her, she had a black eye, maybe a broken nose, split lip and bruises appearing along her face there were red mark on her neck which looked like someone had tried to choke her, he turned her face so that he could see both sides of her neck, thankfully it didn't look like a vamp had tried to bite her which he let out a little sigh of relief about.  
  
"I don't know." Violet answered she was shaking partially from the sight of her best friend in this state she honestly had no idea what had happened to her or why she had suddenly appeared at the door with a bag in her hand.  
  
Spike looked at her and smiled reassuringly at her, "It's ok pet I'll take care of her now, will you go and get me a bowl with some hot water in it, medical Alcohol some cotton buds and ice please?" violet nodded and ran out of the door.  
  
He turned back to look at Erin he remembered her now; she hadn't changed much since she was child.  
  
She started to wake up he eyes were fluttering a bit and then she opened them and he could see she had sparkling green eyes, they reminded him a bit of red.  
  
She looked like she was about to shout or scream but spike interrupted her saying.  
  
"Shh now pet it's ok I'm going to look after you ok."  
  
Her eyes widened in fright when he said that, luckily Violet re-entered the room at the point and ran across to the bed when she saw that Erin was awake again.  
  
"Erin! What happened are you ok???" she asked staring into her friends' eyes deeply  
  
"I need.I can't.please." she said before shutting her eyes and drifting of into unconsciousness again.  
  
Spike turned to look at his baby she was speechless,  
  
"Listen pet, she obviously has been thorough something horrible, her body needs to recover. She needs to sleep. She's not moving from here and I promise you I'll take care of her and clean up her cuts and bruises ok. pet now would you help me by taking off her jumpers and coat and outing her into a thin night shirt or something so I can see what the damage is?"  
  
Violet looked at him and said "yeah sure"  
  
Spike got up and walked towards the door. "I'll be right outside ok pet and short sleeve/ no sleeve if possible. But make sure she's decently covered ok?"  
  
Spike walked out and shut the door, whatever had happened to that girl she had been really laid into.  
  
He heard a noise from downstairs and then a voice shouting "Hello is everything ok? Hello?"  
  
Spike walked down the stairs only to be confronted by Angel standing in the Doorway fangs bared and ready for a fight.  
  
"Spike?"  
  
"Hello peaches." 


	14. Chapter 14

The two of them stood looking at each other before Angel moved forward and opened his arms up to his grand sire; spike walked down and hugged him back.  
  
"How have you been Spike?"  
  
"Lost peaches, lost, but I think that I've finally found my way home."  
  
"You're here for good then spike?"  
  
"Yup things go well then I hope to never leave again."  
  
There was a noise from the upstairs and violet appeared at the top of the stairs spike looked at her and suddenly remembered about Erin,  
  
"Peaches there's a problem upstairs, one of Violets friends, Erin turned up at the door a while ago looked like she done a couple of rounds with the Trayco Demon, Will you help me go up and check her over, she's unconscious but she needs caring for."  
  
Angel looked at spike and said  
  
"Did you say her name was Erin?"  
  
"Yeah why?"  
  
Angel ran up the stairs pushed passed Violet and walked into her room. He walked over the bed; spike was directly behind him now with violet  
  
"What's wrong peaches?" spike asked genuinely concerned  
  
Angel pulled back the covers on the bed and sat down on the edge of it he pulled Erin up and balanced her head on his shoulder and pulled her hair up so that he could see the back of her neck, the mark was there.  
  
"What the Hell are you doing?" Violet screamed at him,  
  
Angel took a couple of minutes just staring at Erin's neck; spike interrupted the silence saying,  
  
"Peaches I think your going to have to tell us what your doing now mate."  
  
Angel looked at spike and said  
  
"Come closer Spike, Where have you seen that mark before?" he asked indicating the bottom of her skull  
  
Spike to a step closer to look at it, there was a shape it looked like a ragged fish hook with a skull hanging off it, there were two words underneath it, RELXITUSIM KARQUIKL which meant "THE CHOSEN DEATH" in Ancient Aramtic.  
  
He took a sharp and very much unneeded intake of breath before looking at Angel again,  
  
"It's the mark of Angkara the goddess of death! What the bleeding hell is that doing on a 17 year old girl, how would she have come into contact with.. Well that?"  
  
Angel looked up at Violet who was looking very scared and bewildered  
  
"Violet, listen to me now it's important."  
  
Violet looked at him she needed to concentrate now, she told herself got to concentrate.  
  
"What is it Angel?"  
  
Angel asked, "What was Erin's mothers name?"  
  
Violet thought for a couple of moments and then said  
  
"Um. it was really strange I'd never heard anything like it before. um.. Luricikal. That was it!"  
  
Spike looked at her for a moment before turning to Angel  
  
"Luricikal? Isn't she.."  
  
"Yes spike she is."  
  
"Then we've got a real problem on are hands haven't we?" spike said  
  
"I'm afraid we do." Angel answered  
  
There was a noise from downstairs and a voice shouted up the stairs  
  
"Violet, Spike? We're back!" 


	15. Chapter 15

Willow watched as her home came into view, they had picked Clara and Giles up at the airport, they had had to wait around a bit because the plane had had a late take off but when it had finally landed, she had run up and hugged Giles as he had walked through the gate and kissed Clara on the cheek and bent down to hug Aria.  
  
Oz had appeared as if out of nowhere with a luggage cart to carry their luggage and had smiled at Giles and Clara and bent down to pick up Aria and waved her around in the air, he was exceptionally fond of the little girl and she of him. He had tickled her and pushed her up to sit on his shoulders before turning back to them all and grinning.  
  
Giles looked slightly bemused at him before saying  
  
"Sorry we were late but the idiotic planes you know how it is."  
  
"Don't worry bout it Giles, we said we'd meet you like we always do, and we've had a lot to sort out over the last couple of days so it was kind of cool to leave the house and have a talk just the two of us." Oz answered the older man smiling  
  
"Really? What's been going on?" Clara asked willow  
  
"Well we've had a large Blonde British Vampire living with us and you know how difficult they can be don't you Giles?"  
  
Willow answered with a little twinkle in her eyes  
  
Giles stared at her for a moment and said  
  
"You mean Spikes come back?"  
  
"Yup, he's in the house as we speak now."  
  
Oz answered while pushing the luggage cart and tickling Aria's feet.  
  
Giles smiled and squeezed Clara's arm indicating his happiness at the situation.  
  
"And violet what does she think about her father appearing again?"  
  
Clara asked, she had heard a lot about This Spike but she had never met him, she knew about his past and his being a vampire and everything and she was very interested in meeting Violets father he must have been an extraordinary man to have a daughter like Violet.  
  
"She was a bit taken a back at first wasn't she Oz?" Willow said  
  
"Yup as in she bolted back down the stairs and out the door."  
  
"She wasn't hurt?" Giles inquired quickly and since they had reached the car he started to put their luggage into the boot of Willow's People carrier.  
  
"No don't worry Giles, Spike followed her, he wouldn't let anything happen to her, he's nearly as bad as he was when she was little," she added with grin knowing that the watcher would immediately know what she meant by this and that all his fears would be extinguished.  
  
Giles smiled at her and sat down in the back next to Clara. Oz, climbed into the front with Willow who was driving and strapped Aria into the seat in between them cause she always loved to sit up front whenever she could persuade anyone to let her and that didn't take much she was gorgeous she had silky blonde hair which curled angelically in ringlets and the brightest green eyes you ever saw, like Cats eyes. And well in word she was cute she had dimples and would smile at anyone she saw.  
  
Clara had rosy blonde hair and green eyes, she was not as tall as Giles not by a long way she was more on the same height range as Tara, she was very thin and always nicely dressed, today for instance she was wearing a pair of Dewberry Corduroy skirt and a black silky top which swished at the top.  
  
Giles looked the same as he always had except maybe a couple of years older although you wouldn't be able to notice it much, he still wore the same sort of clothes as he had worn when they had been younger jeans and jumpers.  
  
They were a couple of blocks from the house when willow pulled into the side of the road out side a small house and beeped the horn a couple of times, Tara appeared at the door smiled and pulled the door behind her and ran out to the car, climbing in beside Giles saying  
  
"Hello Giles, Clara? How are you and hello Aria I can see you down there."  
  
Playing a short came of peek a boo with Aria, until they pulled into the driveway.  
  
They were all getting out of the car when Giles turned to Willow and asked  
  
"Is the front door meant to be open like that?" indicating the front door which had been left slightly ajar.  
  
Willow looked at it for a moment, and said, "I was sure we shut it but I doubt anything wrongs,"  
  
And walked towards it shouting "Violet, Spike we're home!"  
  
She didn't get an answer at first but heard a lot of movement coming from upstairs and then suddenly Violet appeared, she ran down the stairs and hugged Willow and Smiled at the others, Oz turned his attention away from Aria to violet and said  
  
"Hey babe what's wrong, why you been crying?"  
  
Willow took another look at Violet, she had been crying, She was just about to say something when another person was walking down the stairs.  
  
"Angel, what are you doing here, we thought that you weren't going to be able to come until Tuesday night in time for the party." she broke off noticing the expression on his face  
  
"What's wrong?" she asked  
  
Angel ignored her and looked at Giles  
  
"Giles, we've got a problem on our hands."  
  
Giles looked completely confused before he the meaning of those words sunk in.  
  
"What's going on?" Tara asked as she walked in  
  
"Angel what is it?" Giles asked  
  
"It's."  
  
Spike appeared then looking whiter then he did normally.  
  
"Have you told them peaches?" he asked  
  
"No I was just about to spike" he answered  
  
"Told us what?" Oz asked  
  
Violet let go of willow who she had been hugging so closely and said  
  
"It's Erin. They. She."  
  
"What is it?" Willow asked, "Someone tell us what's going on now."  
  
"She's." Violet tried to continue before starting to cry again and holding on to willow.  
  
"Violet's friend came round, while you were out." Spike started. "She's been beaten round a bit and collapsed, I took her upstairs and was going to try to treat her, then Peaches turned up. he went upstairs to look at her and."  
  
"Yes?" Willow said beginning to feel a bit impatient  
  
"She bears the mark of Angkara on the base of her neck." Angel finished looking at his feet  
  
"WHAT?" Giles, Clara, Willow and Tara exclaimed suddenly.  
  
There was silence for a moment then Oz spoke up  
  
"Um. Hate to disturb this quiet moment but who is Angkara?"  
  
Tara was the first to speak up  
  
"Angkara was a Wicca, from the ancient times, one of the first, but she got obsessed with the power she lived for it, one day she did a spell that was so powerful that she crossed over into the next world, but was not able to cross back, She became the most powerful woman in the underworld, and was honoured with the gift of death. She is it's bringer, and stopper she chooses a girl every two thousand years who will wreak her savage will in this dimension one who will sacrifice everything she holds dear and stop at nothing until Angkara is pleased, she will know no remorse because her soul will be taken from her but she will know eternal suffering because it is not until she has pleased Angkara that she will be able to house her soul again but when that happens she will be so far gone into the darkness not even a soul will help her."  
  
"Wow," Oz said exhaling softly.  
  
"Yeah." Willow added then suddenly thinking she said to violet  
  
"Baby will you take aria up to bed please she must be really tired and its getting late, is that ok Clara?"  
  
Clara was stuck dumb with shock at the situation, which she had found herself in.  
  
Giles answered fro her saying  
  
"Yes, please that would help. No bath tonight Aria now come and say night to me and mummy."  
  
Aria toddled over to her father kissed him on the cheek and hugged her mother before taking violets hand and walking upstairs with her. 


	16. Chapter 16

Violet took Aria upstairs, the little girl was looking right at her the whole time she was kneeling in front of her helping her out of her dungarees and pink bunny jumper.  
  
"What's wrong Violet?" Aria asked in a little voice.  
  
Violet struggled a small smile at the little girl in front of her and said  
  
"I'm sad Aria, one of my friends isn't feeling well."  
  
"What's wrong with her?" Aria asked as Violet helped her into her pink pyjama bottoms and pulled the sleeveless vest top with the picture of a pig going oink on it  
  
"She's got a bad head." Violet said not wanting to lie to the little girl but knowing that she couldn't tell her the truth for the simple reason that she didn't know the truth to tell.  
  
Aria looked at her for a moment and then snuggled into her stuffed bear called Snowball as violet pulled the blankets of the bed over her, they had moved her into the room where spike was meant to be staying.  
  
She then kissed the little girl on the forehead and said "Night Night Aria."  
  
She turned off the light but switched on the little night-light, which had been in Aria's bag and shut the door softly.  
  
"VIOLET!!!" Aria shouted from inside, Violet opened the door quickly  
  
"What's wrong??"  
  
"You didn't sing to me!" aria answered crossly.  
  
Violet smiled and sat on the edge of the bed,  
  
"This is a new song that I wrote for you a couple of weeks ago, if you want to hear it?"  
  
"Yes please," Aria said as she snuggled back into Snowball.  
  
Violet sat on the edge of the bed and began to sing  
  
"When I'm sitting in my chair, trying to do my work  
I think about you playing in the sun and a smile  
Comes to my face.  
  
You light my life, you smile is my Joy, you've no  
  
Idea what you mean to me, you're my sister in my heart  
  
I'll take care of you whatever you do  
You can count on me wherever you go  
  
And if I die tomorrow I'll be waiting up there watching you Loving you, smiling at you and making a place for you You're my sister in my heart and I love you Yeah I love you Aria."  
  
Aria was asleep almost as soon as violet opened her mouth but she thought that she should sing the song any way, it made her happy to sing it, no it was more than that, Aria made her happy. And she did honestly love her like a sister.  
  
She bent down and gave her another quick kiss on the forehead before shutting the door and going downstairs.  
  
When she got downstairs she could hear loud voices coming from the living room.  
  
She walked in and everyone stopped talking and looked at her.  
  
Clara asked her quietly, "Was Aria ok?"  
  
Violet smiled at her and said "Yeah she's fast asleep in the land of nod."  
  
She decided to ignore it, and walked over to where Spike was sitting on the couch and pulled the footstool over to by him and sat next to him before looking around the room and saying to no one in particular  
  
"Tell me what's going on."  
  
Angel looked at her for a moment and said "Violet I don't think."  
  
Spike interrupted him saying, "Peaches she's not a little girl, she deserves to know."  
  
Violet looked at him and smiled  
  
"So who's going to start then?" she asked impatiently  
  
Giles looked around and then said,  
  
"I guess I'll do that then. Violet, your friend Erin? The mark that is on her neck is a symbol. The ragged fishhook and the skull they are the symbol of a powerful deity called AngKara, as you heard earlier When Tara explained to Oz She is the Goddess of Death. Now the writing that is on Erin's neck is ELXITUSIM KARQUIKL means "THE CHOSEN DEATH." Tara talked of the chosen one earlier and it appears that your friend is that chosen one, the one chosen by Angkara,"  
  
Violet sat still for a moment not saying anything then she looked up and said,  
  
"How. Why would Angkara choose her? I mean its Erin."  
  
Angel answered this one,  
  
"Do you remember what I asked you what Erin's mom's name was?"  
  
Violet looked at him and said yes.  
  
"Well Luricikal was the high priestess of the Angkara, it was her job to give birth to the child who would be chosen, when she conceived Erin the goddess Angkara would have rewarded her by choosing Erin to be the one, and after that she would have given Luricikal three more daughters, Kayleigh is the guide, Kara the first to be killed and Johanna she would be the next high priestess as she is the youngest."  
  
Tara interrupted here  
  
"Violet this isn't something which she would have had a choice in, she didn't do anything wrong, its what her destiny is. So don't be mad with her about it."  
  
Violet looked at her for a moment and stood up saying  
  
"Don't be mad, I've just found out that my best friend is destined to become a mass killer in the name of the goddess Angkara all because her mom was some wacko psycho bitch who decided to worship her!!"  
  
Spike stood up in front of her and held her arms holding her still and said  
  
"Pet I know your upset but there's no need to be rude to these people especially Tara."  
  
Violet looked at him and it suddenly dawned on her what she had just done.  
  
"I'm sorry Tara!" She ran forward to the stool where Tara was sitting, "it's just so hard to believe."  
  
Tara wrapped her arms round her and said, "I know Violet I know."  
  
Violet hugged her and then turned to angel again.  
  
"Is there anything which can stop her, before it happens."  
  
Angel, Giles and spike exchanged looks before angel answered  
  
"There are scrolls which we can look at, she's been stopped before and. well yes there are ways which she can be stopped."  
  
None of them looked at each other while he said this.  
  
Tara noticed how nervous everyone was looking and said  
  
"It's getting late you probably all need some sleep, I should be going, Spike could you walk me home?"  
  
Spike looked at her, he knew she was doing it to lesson the tension in the room and he was grateful for it, they needed time to sort everything, there was a look in her eyes though, he knew he would be explaining what was really going on to her when they got her home.  
  
"Sure Pet, I'll just get my jacket."  
  
Willow knew what she was doing and looked over and Tara and smiled she got up and hugged her friend saying "It's just like old times all we need is Anya and Xander and we got us a good old fashioned Scooby Meeting,"  
  
Giles up and said; "Only we never really had one without Buffy did we?"  
  
"No I guess not." Willow answered.  
  
Violet looked up and said "I'm going to go to bed now, I'll see you all in the morning" she hugged spike on her way upstairs but other then that she said nothing.  
  
Spike looked after his baby girl he wanted to run after her to talk to her, to tell her everything would be ok but he knew in his heart that she needed time to think about what she had heard.  
  
Angel stood up and said that he was going to go up and check on Erin, Violet was staying in the spikes room with Aria. Angel and Spike were going to be staying up to watch over Erin.  
  
Willow went up to bed, so did Clara.  
  
Giles and oz went into the kitchen and spike closed the door behind him as he left to take Tara home. 


	17. Chapter 17

Oz was leaning against the sink staring out the window when Giles entered the kitchen and sat down, taking his glasses off to clean them.  
  
Oz turned to look at the older man; he was worried he could tell  
  
"Giles what is it? What is it that you didn't tell us in there?"  
  
Giles looked at him for a moment before saying  
  
"I'm not sure. I have to check first.."  
  
"Damn it Giles." Oz said slamming his hands down on the sink and turning towards him saying  
  
"You've never tried to hide anything from me before, and now I know you are all I kind think is that it has something to do with violet or willow cause I know that if it were anyone else you would just come out and say it."  
  
Giles looked at him again and placed his glasses back on his nose.  
  
"There is a last prophecy in the scrolls of the ancients about Angkara, her chosen can only be defeated by the blood of a child born of vampire and slayer."  
  
Oz looked at him and slid down to his seat,  
  
"Violet."  
  
He said with a dull tone to his voice.  
  
"I'm afraid so."  
  
Oz asked, "What will happen to. what does she need to do?"  
  
Giles was silent for a minute and then looked at him straight in the eyes before saying,  
  
"You have to understand that I will search for an alternative way. But according to the scrolls the only way to defeat Angkara is for Violet to be bleed under the New moon, when he heart stops to beat and a tear of a parent and a friend is shed then Angkara's bones will shatter and the soul of her chosen be realised."  
  
Oz looked out of the window for what seemed like a long period of time but in reality was only a couple of seconds,  
  
"So Violet has to die, to save the world, just like Buffy."  
  
"Yes. But that is not what will happen. we will find another way. I let Buffy do her duty. convinced myself it was what was meant to happen but I won't stand by and let it happen again.. I will not Sacrifice Violet even for the world, she is like another daughter to me."  
  
Oz looked at the older man and knew he was telling the truth.  
  
"I guess we better start looking for an alternative then," he stood up and walked towards the kettle, "Would you like a cup of tea or Coffee?"  
  
Giles looked at him and said "Tea please we're going to be up all night on this one,"  
  
Oz nodded and said, "All the books and the computer are in the study it's the door opposite the entrance to the lounge."  
  
Giles said "Well right I just need to go see Clara and then I'll meet you in there,"  
  
With that he walked out the kitchen door and up the stairs.  
  
Oz stood in the kitchen waiting for the kettle to boil and humming a tune to himself as he leaned over across the sink and pulled the window shut.  
  
Violet was crying, she was sitting on the roof outside her bedroom window; she often went and sat on the roof at night to look at the stars, to think and to write her songs and poetry.  
  
She had heard every single word of the conversation between Oz and Giles in the kitchen the roof she was sitting on was the kitchen roof, she didn't know what to do, but she knew now how her mother must have felt.  
  
She had to choose whether she would die in order to save the world or whether she would let the world die by the hand of her best friend and the girl who felt more like a sister to her.  
  
She didn't know what to do but she heard a noise from the room inside, she climbed back in quickly afraid that it was someone who had come to check on her, but instead all she saw was Aria tossing and turning having a nightmare.  
  
She bent of the tiny form of the sleep child and shook her lightly to wake her, she woke up with a start with tears falling down her face.  
  
Violet scooped her up and cuddled her into her lap as she sat down on the be crossing her legs and holding her as if she was a tiny baby with her arms wrapped round her whispering soothing noises in her ear to calm her down.  
  
It was in that moment that she saw Aria curled up in her arms that she decided she knew what she had to do. 


	18. Chapter 18

Spike stood on the Tara's porch, leaning against the railing, he had just explained to her what the last prophecy in scrolls of the ancients had said about how to defeat Angkara, they were both silent.  
  
The Tara turned to him and did something which shocked him immensely she hugged him, she could feel the pain emanating off him and she knew he was scared about what would happen to Violet.  
  
"It's going to be ok Spike, We won't let anything happen to her."  
  
Spike hugged her back and whispered into her ear  
  
"I can't loose her... I've lost too many people in my life... I'm not going to loose her."  
  
She turned her head up and kissed him softly on the lips, "I know Spike, none of us want to loose her..... We will find another way."  
  
Spike was shocked about the kiss that he had just received from the witch but he had liked it, he wrapped his arms tighter round her and buried his head into his shoulder, she stroked his back and whispered comforting sounds into his ears trying to heal some of the pain which was shinning through his startling blue eyes.  
  
"It's all going to be ok." She kissed him lightly on the forehead before removing her arms and pushing his head up.  
  
"Violet's going to be very scared now Spike, she knows about the ritual I can't tell you how I know but I do, she is scared more then she has ever been in her life and she needs you to be strong for her, if you show her weakness then she will show weakness in the decision which she has to make, be strong for her Spike and everything will turn out the way it was supposed to...."  
  
Tara flashed him a smile and said "Good night" and she turned to close the door, spike grabbed her arm though and pulled her back to him,  
  
"You know don't you, how this will all turn out."  
  
"No." she answered honestly, "I see many things because of the gift my mother gave me she could see the future through someone's hearts and I have known that Violet was born to make a choice like this, I can't tell you how it will end though, all I know is that Violet is half way to making her decision at this very moment, I do not know how though all I know is that the decision will have been made by sunset tomorrow and one way or another the world will have change for better or worse under the new moons light."  
  
Spike looked at her a moment and said,  
  
"I won't let anything harm her." And ran off into the night back towards the house  
  
Tara looked after him hoping for the best but she knew in her heart by the feeling in the air that the decision had already been made by Violet and nothing would stop her.  
  
She looked up at the crescent moon and whispered a small prayer to the goddess,  
  
I who have been cursed with the knowledge of the emotions of others, Know that nothing I do can change the future, all I ask is that the soul of the child whom I protect with my spirit shall not be harmed by the outcome of her actions, let her spirit run free in the winds and let her witness only goodness from her actions. I ask this in the name of my goddess.  
  
And bowing her head she retreated into the safety of her house before walking up the long stairs to her room. 


	19. Chapter 19

Spike returned to "Eternal Summers" and walked straight into the study, he had seen a light on from outside and had known that the watcher would be in their researching alternative ways to stop Angkara, which would not involve his baby. He was slightly surprised to see Oz in there with him but at once regretted his surprise when he saw the look of blind determination to find a solution in the mans eyes, he realised in that minute that it was not only because Willow had wanted to care for violet that he had agreed to care for the child, he also cared deeply for her, and Spike saw him in a new light filled with respect and gratitude in that moment.  
  
Giles looked up when Spike entered the room, "Did Tara get home ok?"  
  
Spike said "Yup she was fine went in and made sure everything was ok for her, she's going to phone here if she needs anything."  
  
"Good good." Giles answered  
  
Oz looked at Spike and said, " I think Angel wanted you to help him watch Erin, she's getting close to her transformation apparently and you might need to restrain her."  
  
"Thanks, I'll go baby sit with peaches then, is there a book I can take with me, I want to feel like I'm doing something to help her......."  
  
Oz smiled at blonde vampire, he hadn't really liked him to begin with and had been appalled with him when he left violet after Buffy died but now that he looked back at the situation he realised that if it had been him then he would have left as well, and he had no right to pass judgement on any one after all hadn't he left his beloved willow in favour of some random slut who had appeared in his life all be it for a short period of time it had been enough to hurt her.  
  
"Here have these, I'm not sure how helpful they'll be but we're just looking at every possibility there is at the moment." He said handing spike a stack of about 6 books.  
  
"Thanks Oz, I'll bring them down when I've finished them, give me a shout if you find anything, ok." He said looking at Giles,  
  
"I promise we'll call you if we find anything no matter how small it is." Giles answered.  
  
Spike appeared to be happy with this response because he stalked out of the room and up the stairs to Violets room where Erin was.  
  
He walked in and saw that angel was seated on a desk chair next to the bed watching the girl tossing and turning.  
  
Angel looked at him as he entered,  
  
"I'm just going to check on Violet ok peaches," spike said depositing the pile of books in his hands onto the floor in front of him.  
  
"Giles said that there might be something in here so I said that we'd look over them while they look at everything else in the library ok?"  
  
Angel nodded and said, "Spike we will find a way out of this......."  
  
"Every keeps saying that, and the more they say it, the more I'm beginning to think that we'll not find another way......" Spike said as he walked out the door,  
  
"But thank you....Angel...... It means a lot to me to know your all trying."  
  
He walked down the hall and paused at the door next to the room he had just been in, he was going to knock but he knew that Aria would be asleep now and didn't want to disrupt the little girls sleep.  
  
So he turned the door knob carefully so as not to make any noise and walked into the room, there sitting on the bed was Violet holding Aria wrapped up in her arms, as if she were trying to protect her from something, it was a way which he had often found Buffy holding Violet when he had come home late.  
  
He smiled to himself as he walked over to the bed and lifted Aria out of violets arms and without waking her placed the little girl under the cover, she instantly curled up closer to the white teddy bear lying in the blankets and let out a little content breath.  
  
Violet had felt someone moving Aria out of her arms and had woken up with a start, when she opened her eyes, she saw her dad pulling the blankets over the little girl.  
  
When Spike felt her watching him he turned to look at her, she looked so fragile but he couldn't see any fear in her eyes as she smiled at him, mindful of what Tara had said to him he made sure that he didn't display on of the emotions of fear or pain which were flooding through his veins in his eyes as he leaned over to hug her tightly into him, he picked her up in the air and hugged her, swinging her round like he used to do when she was tiny and then pulling back the covers placed her in the bed and pulled the patchwork quilt over her, he sat down next to her and stroked her hair,  
  
"I love you Violet, you know that don't you baby, every day of your life, I might not have been here but I've thought of you every time I take a breath, every time I opened my eyes I saw you, or you mother. And I want you to know that she would be so proud of you, you are just the person she hoped you would be, the person she wanted to be, the night she died the woman who found her lying in the street said that all she could say was Spike, and then Violet, your name was the last thing she said with her dying breathe, I'm not a warlock but I know about magic and that sort of love will be with you forever it's in the way you breathe the way you act and it gives you courage, something which your mom never lacked, she was scared of so many things in her life but she faced each and every single one of them, and I know you know about what the scrolls say about Erin but be patient there may be another way yet."  
  
She was crying she looked at him for a moment and said,  
  
"I love you to dad, and mom, but I know that theirs no other way really so do you deep down, I can tell or you wouldn't be saying all this to me, I've made my mind up already, if you can't find an alternative then I will go through with the ritual tomorrow night," she looked over at Aria and turned back to Spike carrying on,  
  
"Ever since I was little I've had a feeling that I was meant to do something important, that I was here for a purpose, there's something I'm meant to do with my life, and I think..... No I know that this is it, I have to do it, I'm the only thing which can stop it, I know it sounds big headed and everything but I have to do it..... There's only one thing... I don't want to be on my own..... I'm not scared of being dead but I'm scared of dying.... And I don't want to be on my own promise me dada that I won't have to die on my own."  
  
Spike looked at his baby girl, she truly was amazing she had accepted that she would probably have to give up her life for a cause and he was the one with the major problem.  
  
He smiled down at her and said "We're not sure if you'll need to yet babe, but I promise you that you will not if it happens have to die on your own, I will be there the whole time, holding your hand."  
  
"Thank you dada." Violet said hugging Spike before lying back on the bed  
  
Spike bent down kissed her on the forehead and got up to leave the room saying "Night night Baby."  
  
"Night Night dada," came a sleepy reply.  
  
Once he was back outside on the landing he leant against the door and held his head in his arms as the tears started to fall, he gave him self a couple of minutes in order to sort himself out before he walked back into the room where Angel was sitting watching Erin.  
  
Erin was sitting bolt up rite in the bed she was talking in a strange language he couldn't really recognise it but it sounded a bit like a cross between Hikranian and Polkintepth both of them were ancient Demon languages which had died out millions of years before the first humans were even born.  
  
"How's she doing?" Spike asked Angel as he sat down on the comfy stool, which was in front of the vanity dresser.  
  
Angel looked into the eyes of his favourite childe and said "Not good, the transformation is starting, her soul is leaving her, she's strong though, there's a fight going on in there between her and Angkara, it's difficult to tell who's winning but it's taking longer than I would have expected."  
  
Spike looked at his sire and said, "All we can do is wait then, and try to get through these." He said indicating the books.  
  
They both leant forward and picked a book up each and settled down for a long night. 


	20. Chapter 20

The next morning at dawn there was a banging at the door, Giles got up to see who it was but whoever it was they just burst into the hall through the door, it a was girl. She was a bout 9 years old and she was levitating about two foot in the air, she was clad in a flowing black robe which reached down well past her ankles, the sleeves were ripped and scraggly the top was hanging down her shoulder on one side and on the over it was perched above her shoulder, her blood red hair was flowing loose down her back every over strand was braided, her skin was pale as ash, her head was raised high with an evil grin on her face, and her eyes flashed red.  
  
Giles looked at her and said, "Who are you?"  
  
The girl if you could still call her that, for in that moment she looked more like a monster than half the things which he had seen on the hell mouth.  
  
She let a laugh at that and answered, her voice was cracked and high pitched yet low all at once, it was a chilling sound and sent shivers down his spine. "Foolish Mortal, you dare to question me? I am the guide to the chosen and I have come for her it is nearly time."  
  
"Your Kayleigh?"  
  
"That was the name Lurickal gave me yes. I'm bored of you now."  
  
And as she said that a blue light shot out of her hands and pushed Giles about three foot backwards, knocking him out as he hit the wall with a loud crash.  
  
Spike and Angel shot out of the room where they were guarding Erin when they heard the crash and rushed down stairs, Willow who had also awoken at the crash was right behind them.  
  
They saw the girl at the bottom of the stairs and spike turned to angel  
  
"Who the hell is this then?"  
  
Angel looked at her and said, "I'm guessing the guide."  
  
"Giles!" Willow shouted as she saw the old man lying unconscious in the study, Oz was nowhere to been seen.  
  
"Move out of my way, mortal." The girl shouted at willow  
  
"No," Willow stood her ground and looked straight into the eyes of the guide and started to repeat an extremity powerful spell.  
  
"Hakra clutch at her bones, let her not move, she is the impure the dead born and a minion of Angkara herself, help your people, help them in their need."  
  
A golden light ran through willow and looked like it must have passed through her soul, the goodness in it was evident, Kayleigh or whoever she was now, was frozen in mid air and every time she tried to move forward she cried out in pain as she was burned.  
  
Willow collapsed once she had said the spell, that's how much of her power it had taken.  
  
The next thing she knew it, Oz was standing over her lying in their bed looking worried. 


	21. Chapter 21

When Violet awoke that morning, she wondered what had awoken her, she was tired and knew that she could have done with a couple more hours of sleep, she opened her eyes with a groan, it was then that she realised what it was exactly which had awoken her.  
  
Standing on the bed looking down on her was Aria, she was giggling and tickling the older girl in order to try and wake her up, violet couldn't help but grin and said,  
  
"So you think that's funny do you, missy?"  
  
And with that she grabbed at Aria's legs and pulled her back down onto the bed lying her down and leaning over her tickling her tummy and her feet, until the little girl when red with laughter.  
  
"I think it's about time that we got up, so what do you feel like for breakfast."  
  
Aria sat up the minute she heard the word breakfast, she wasn't a greedy child but she loved pancakes, she wasn't allowed them often, her mommy didn't make them for her at all when they were at home so it was only when they came to stay with Uncle Oz, Aunty Willow and Violet that she had them.  
  
Violet knew what Aria would want and was not surprised when she heard the little girl say "Pancakes, Pancakes!"  
  
As Violet got up out of bed and walked over to the dresser where she picked up a hair bobble and used it to tie her hair up in a high bun on the top of her head, and then walked over to the door to pull off her bath robe, Aria had taken to jumping up and down on the bed singing a little song which went something like  
  
"Pancakes, pancakes, I love pancakes."  
  
Violet smiled at her and said "Well you had better come over here and put your bath robe and slippers on or you'll catch your death of cold, and won't need any pancakes."  
  
Aria jumped off the bed at this and grabbed her pink bathrobe and fluffy sheep and was standing next to violet waiting to go downstairs basically before Violet had finished talking.  
  
Violet laughed and picked her up and carried her down the stairs and into the kitchen as they walked through the hall she saw that Giles was lying spread out on the coach and had a nasty bruise across his head, she also saw burn marks on the wall of the hall but she didn't care, she just walked past them all. She put her down on one of the chairs by the table before walking across to the fridge getting the eggs and milk out, grabbing the flour and a bowl out of cupboard, she turned the radio on and started to make the mixture up for the pancakes, a song came on that seemed to perfectly capture the mood she was feeling  
  
Hold on to me love.  
You know I can't stay long.  
All I wanted to say was I love you,  
And I'm not afraid (Ahhh)  
Can you hear me ?  
Can you feel me in your arms ?  
  
(chorus)  
Holding my last breath.  
Safe inside myself.  
Are all my thoughts of you ?  
Sweet raptured light,  
It ends here tonight.  
  
I'll miss the winter.  
A world of fragile things.  
Look for me in the white forest,  
Hiding in a hollow tree (come find me)  
I know you hear me.  
I can taste it in your tears.  
  
(chorus)  
Holding my last breath.  
Safe inside myself.  
Are all my thoughts of you ?  
Sweet raptured light,  
It ends here tonight.  
  
Closing your eyes to disappear.  
You pray your dreams will leave you here  
But still you wake and know the truth  
No one's there!  
  
Say goodnight  
Don't be afraid.  
Calling me,  
Calling me,  
As you fade to black.  
  
(chorus)  
Holding my last breath.  
Safe inside myself.  
Are all my thoughts of you ?  
Sweet raptured light,  
It ends here tonight.  
  
Holding My Last Breath.  
Safe inside myself.  
Are all my thoughts of you ?  
Sweet raptured light,  
It ends here tonight.  
  
It was last day and she new it, but as she started to spoon the mixture into the frying pan to make the waffles she realised that she would make the most of her last day.  
  
Spike walked into the kitchen just in time to catch the last couple of lines of the song which was on the radio, he looked at violet she had a smile kind of plastered onto her face, it didn't look real it looked strained if anything.  
  
"Hey babes how are you this morning?"  
  
"Hey dad, I'm good. Thank you, just planning with Aria what we're going to do today that's all," she took a look at Aria to make sure that she wasn't listening and carried on by saying,  
  
"Just planning my last day, you know the usual think a 17 year old girl has to do the day before her birthday."  
  
He took a step towards her and hugged her.  
  
Then turning to Aria he sat down next to her and said "So what are you and my baby going to be up to today, then sweet pea?"  
  
She looked at him for a moment and said, "We're gonna have pancakes, and then Violet said that she'd take me to the park to play on the swings. And then we're gonna have ice cream."  
  
"Well that sounds like you have a nice day planned their pet." He said smiling at Violet at she placed a plate of pancakes in front of him and Aria.  
  
"Yeah, I thought that it would be good for us to get out of the house so that everything can be arranged and so we don't get in the way or anything."  
  
"Sounds like a good idea, expect that Giles, wouldn't want his precious hearing all bout the big bad." Spike said taking a mouthful of pancakes.  
  
Aria had finished her's and smiled at spike.  
  
"Well pet, since your all finished up how bout you go up stairs and have a think about what your gonna wear today then, want to look your best after all don't you,"  
  
Spike said smiling at her.  
  
Aria nodded and jumped off her chair and ran up the stairs, thankfully she didn't see Giles lying on the sofa unconscious since she didn't say anything or go and see him so it was either that she hadn't seen him or that she was just so used to seeing her father strewn out unconscious that it didn't bother her, spike assumed that it was probably the first reason.  
  
He looked over at violet, who was playing with her pancakes,  
  
"Make sure your back by dusk I want to show you something later ok."  
  
Violet looked at him suddenly when he said that,  
  
"What?"  
  
"That would be telling pet, just make sure that your back in time ok pet, it's important, ok?"  
  
"OK dad." Violet said as she stood up, "I better go and get dressed up for my big day out with Aria."  
  
She walked out of the room and spike stared after her. He knew that this would be her last day, for all their hard work throughout the night none of them had been able to find another way to stop Angkara, they were willing to let the world end but he knew Violet wasn't, she had decided herself, what she was going to do last night, he guessed like her he had realised then that there was not gonna be another easier way out of it, that she was going to have go through with the ritual.  
  
He turned back to his pancakes and carried on eating them.  
  
Violet walked up stairs and straight past her room without even looking to see how Erin was, she knew it was selfish of her but she wanted to get away from all that, until the inevitability of that night.  
  
She went into the room she was sharing with Aria and grabbed a pair of black jeans, a orange off the shoulder top, and knee high stripy socks, Aria was sitting on the bed dressed in denim dungarees and baby blue t- shirt she was waiting for someone to do her hair.  
  
"Hey Aria, you look lovely, Just let me get dressed and then I'll do your hair ok."  
  
Aria nodded and sang a little song, as Violet got dressed. Once she was dressed she walked over to the bed and sat the girl on her knee as she pulled the comb through the tresses of silky hair,  
  
"What do you want me to do to your hair then Aria?" Violet asked her once she had worked all the knots out of it.  
  
"Um plats, please." She said with a grin on her face as Violet divided her hair into two sections and started to braid each one before putting a bobble at the end of it.  
  
When she had finished braiding the hair she slipped Aria off her lap and pointed towards the mirror saying, "Is that ok?"  
  
Aria padded towards the mirror and said "Yeah, you do your hair the same, we'll look like sisters then." She shyly.  
  
Violet smiled and said, "sure, wanna find me two bobbles to tie it with?" as she began to braid her hair.  
  
When they had finished, they left the room and went downstairs where violet sat on the bottom step and put on her knee high black boots and grabbed her three quarter length coat she then turned round to help Aria to help her tie up her shoes.  
  
Clara came walking down the stairs yawning  
  
"Morning mommy."  
  
"Morning baby."  
  
Clara said looking them both over before saying "so what are you two up to then."  
  
"Violet said she'd take me out for the day." Aria answered smiling.  
  
Violet looked at Clara for a moment "That is ok isn't it, sorry I should have asked but I thought that since everything was the way it is that it would probably be good if we went out but if you want we can stay."  
  
Clara smiled at the nervous girl and said "No it's great I was going to ask you if you would any way, I don't mind have fun baby." She said as she bent down and kissed Aria on the cheek  
  
"Bye."  
  
She said as she watched the two figures walking out the door.  
  
A/n song  
  
|My Last Breathe | |by Evanescence |  
  
Not mine so don't sue!!!! 


	22. Chapter 22

Willow woke up to find OZ, standing above her. She was lying; her head hurt when she tried to sit up so she decided that she was just going to sit there.  
  
"Hey," she whispered  
  
"Hey, How you doing babe?" Oz asked her, he had been so worried about her when he came back from the grocery store with the breakfast stuff he had found the love of his life curled up unconscious on the floor with Angel and spike standing above her looking worried and a figure floating in a gold light which on closer looking he had realised was Kayleigh only now she had become the guide.  
  
He had dropped the bag he was holding and had ran over to her body, falling to the fall neck to her leaning over her on his knees, so scared that that had been it, she hadn't been moving he was so scared that the light had been taking from his life he would never be able to describe to anyone the relief which he had felt when he touched her long neck and felt the steady rhythm of her pulse, he had cried with relief.  
  
He had scoped her up easily into her arms and carried her up the arms and over the threshold of their room in the same way, which he had on their wedding night, and he had lain her loving on the bed.  
  
She had been unconscious for about half an hour by the time she finally managed to open her eyes, he felt such joy as he peered into their grassy deepness.  
  
"I'm good, what happened to Kayleigh......... The guide? Did it work."  
  
Willow said as she started to pull herself up in the bed, but flinching slightly from the pain in her head.  
  
"The spell, worked babe, it was amazing you had her trapped, but she vanished it was like a mouth opened in her and swallowed her up into herself and she was gone."  
  
OZ said as he stroked her hair softly so as not to put any pressure on her aching head.  
  
"How did you know that would work?" he asked.  
  
"I didn't but I knew that I had read it somewhere, in one of the books I looked in last night it tells the story of Angkara, Hakra was Angkara's twin sister, but they were different, two sides to the spectrum like ying and yang. Where Angkara was darkness, Hakra was light, when Angkara was swallowed up into the darkness, Hakra was pulled into the light, she is the protectress of life, where Angkara is the bringer of death." Willow said through closed eyes, her head hurt and worse than that she thought that she was going to be sick it was that odd kind of feeling where you think your going to be sick but you never are, you just have that feeling of yucky ness.  
  
"Oh, well I guess you found more than me Giles, Spike and Angel any way."  
  
Oz said with a passive tone, he didn't want to feel emotion any more he didn't want to tell willow what this meant but he knew that he had to. "So you didn't find anything about how to stop her?"  
  
Willow said frowning slightly with her eyes shut, "Well that's gonna make it hard aint it. So there's nothing that we know."  
  
"Will.. There is one way which we know how to stop her."  
  
"Well what's wrong then we just work that angle."?  
  
"If we go through with it, then it means we have to kill Violet her blood is the only thing which can........ Can destroy Angkara and restore Erin's soul."  
  
"WHAT!!!" willow's eyes flew open, "We're not doing that..... I won't let you do that...... You'll have to kill me first." She said trying to get to her feet but her body not really connecting with her brains muffled directions.  
  
Oz tried to push her back down, to hold her down in case she hurt herself more than she had by doing that spell.  
  
"Will...Will.... Please settle down... Please."  
  
Suddenly the door flew open and spike walked in, "I'm just gonna grab some blood for me and peaches..."  
  
Noticing the scene going on Between Willow and Oz where, he walked over to them and pushed past oz, picking willow up in his arms he placed her back on the bed, she looked like she was about to say something to push past him again as he put her down squirming in his arms, he placed a finger on her lips and said "Now, Red calm down and listen to Oz here, he's only telling you what's for the best you need to build up your strength."  
  
"But.."  
  
"No But's Red, Just sit and be good."  
  
He said that and walked towards the wardrobe. Oz turned back to willow, thankful for spike's interruption but kind of annoyed at being pushed aside in the way he had been.  
  
"Will, like I was trying to say before spike came in, we're not going to be going through with the ritual you don't have to worry, I promise you we're not going to harm Violet. Ok."  
  
He smiled down at her and kissed the tip of her nose. "Ok?" he asked again, wanting her to respond. "Ok." She said slowly.  
  
Spike came back in the room at this point and said  
  
"I didn't mean to listen but I couldn't help but over hear you in the wardrobe, but you need to know, Violet is going through with the ritual."  
  
Willow and OZ both stared at him dumbfounded, "What?" they both asked in unison,  
  
Willow responded first, "You monster, I thought you had changed, you did change with buffy, but now she's gone your back aren't you? Back to being the big bad, should have known that you never really cared about her, this is just a convenient way of getting rid of all that extra baggage that you don't want. Well guess what mister, I aint gonna let you hurt her, you might not like it but you helped make her you can't just dispose of her when your bored, you know......."  
  
She said pausing for breath looking at Spike, He had gone pale, so much paler that she had ever seen him and he was taking breathes deep sharp ones contracting his chest back and forth, his face contorted and his demon appeared in his features, he took a menacing step towards Willow and screamed at her, a blood curdling cry which could only have been made by an immortal wronged, howling banshee like through the room and screaming back at him through the walls.  
  
"How dare, you? You claim I feel nothing for her, the child who bares more than my soul, the child who bears my essence the essence of my ancestors; you have no idea do you? No idea how much she means to me, not idea about anything, I had to walk into the gates of hell and fight the demon lord who held my mortal soul so that I could have a child, so buffy could have a child, so we could have violet, I bear scares from that day that you can't imagine, worse than glory more powerful than anything you foolishly could imagine, I did that not just for buffy but for myself I wanted Violet, I needed her she is what my gift is to this world a way which I can repay some of my sins, Buffy taught me how to love again as William was never able to, I loved her with everything I had and I loved Violet with more than that, she is me she is William she has his soul in her, she is my soul that was the way which violet was created using my soul and buffy's body,"  
  
He broke off for breath, "So don't you dare stand and judge me, I would rather die a thousand deaths, and live for an eternity in hells warmest furnace than see my baby die, but it is not my choice to make it is her's and I thought you would understand that Red, I was ready to take her away far away from here when Buffy died, but I knew she should grow up here so she would understand the sacrifices people made for her. Tara told me when I walked home that it was her choice to make, not mine and that she had to make the right choice and I wasn't to influence her if I could help it, but I wanted to, I wanted to hold her down to tell her to let the world die, to tell her that I would protect her that we would be fine and she wouldn't need to through with it, but I saw her last night when she had made her choice, she was so sure of herself, I knew I couldn't stop her just as I knew no one could have stopped Buffy from saving dawn, could they just as no one can stop Violet, and you know what? The one thing she asked me as soon, as she told me she had made her decision she asked me to make sure she didn't die alone, cause she's scared, she doesn't want to be alone. She doesn't mind dying for the world but she doesn't want to be alone, there's more of Buffy in there then there is me and you know what I'm proud, proud that she is willing to sacrifice everything she has just like her mom did but I just wish that you could be by her side like you were with buffy but oh well, if you don't want to be if you don't care enough I'll take violet with me when she gets back in secret me and her will perform the ritual and she will have to die knowing that you two think to little of her to even hold her hand as she goes through this."  
  
Willow and Oz were both looking shocked from Spike's explosion and then Willow softly, "No stay, she needs to be with us, I'm sorry spike I didn't know, but let me help I'm the only one apart from you who could probably get through the ritual unhurt."  
  
Spike nodded and left the room. 


	23. Chapter 23

When Violet had shut the front door she turned and held her hand out to Aria who accepted it with a smile so wide she looked like the Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland.  
  
The walked hand in hand down the same roads which only days ago Violet had run to away from spike, and ended up in the same park as where he had found her.  
  
There were kids in the park already, playing on the swings and on the round about, playing tag and football, it was a world wind of activity.  
  
"What do you want to go on first then Aria?" Violet asked bending down to look at her  
  
"The swings!" Aria said excitedly as they made their way towards them. There was only one, which was free so Violet lifted Aria up onto it told her to hold onto the chain supporting the swing and then started to push her gently so that she swung backwards and forwards slowly.  
  
"Faster, Faster!" Aria shouted laughing, so Violet pushed her higher but was careful not to push her to high in case she let go or slipped cause she could really hurt herself falling off.  
  
As she was helping Aria off the swing she heard a voice from behind her saying,  
  
"Violet! Hey, how are you." She turned when she heard the voice it was Pete.  
  
"Hey Pete, What you up to?"  
  
"Oh I'm looking after Charlie and Sophie today," he said pointing at two kids playing catch who had similar bright red hair to his own.  
  
"Cool," she answered with a smile Then remembering Aria who was hiding behind her legs, looking around at Pete eyeing him from her small vantage point hidden away behind Violet's legs, Pete seeing her bent down on his knees, and smiled at her holding out his hand at her saying,  
  
"Hey you, what's your name? I'm Pete by the way, I know Violet from school."  
  
Aria looked up at Violet for a moment before deciding what to do when she saw Violet's encouraging smile she stepped out from her hiding space behind violet's legs and said, "My name's Aria, I live in England."  
  
"England ay? Well you're a long way from home then aren't you? How long are you staying here for?"  
  
"We came for Violet's birthday, it's tomorrow so I don't know."  
  
They all smiled at each other and then Pete had an idea, he stood up and asked Violet, "How would you both like to spend the day with us? We're staying here for a bit and then we're going to the cinema to see pirates of the Caribbean, and then probably onto the arcade for some pinball and a burger for tea, would you like that Aria?"  
  
Violet thought for a moment about the offer but then after looking down at Aria she decided "I don't think we can today sorry Pete, thank you for the really kind offer and everything, but I kind of promised Aria that it would be just me and her today an that we would go and have ice cream and go round the shops and we have to be back by about 5 any way......." Violet looked at Pete, he looked kind of dejected since she at her answer and so she continued saying, "But maybe tomorrow, I'm having a party in the evening starts at about 6 just family and a couple of friends if you want to stop by you'd be more than welcome."  
  
Pete stood up and met her smile with a walloping big one of his own.  
  
"Sure I'll be there, sound like it'll be fun, Well I better be going now, cause the film is starting soon, but I'll see you both tomorrow, Bye Violet, Bye bye Aria!"  
  
And with that he had run off to collect the two kids who were busy playing catch at the other side of the park.  
  
"You don't mind that I said we wouldn't spend the day with them do you Aria, it's just that I wanted to spend the day with you just me and you today that's all."  
  
Aria smiled back up at her and said "Me to." Before offering up her hand to violet, who accepted it with a smile.  
  
They played so more in the playground, on the swings and on the big roundabout and they played catch for a while, until Aria started to feel a bit tired, when this happened, Violet picked her and carried her down the road to her favourite café Magic Spark, the café was painted orange, the chairs and tabled were all made of pine wood and the table clothes were all a different shade of orange, the whole place was lit by candles which in the evening meant tat this place was the ideal place for a romantic date, in the daytime though, when the pick think blinds were pulled up and the suns bright light shone through the windows making everything look slightly paler.  
  
They sat down at a small table set for two close by to one of the big window, looking out of it they could see out into one of the vast cemeteries in sunnydale.  
  
Violet looked at the menu with Aria, reading to her different things which were on there and suggesting food which she might like, in the end by the time Meg who was the waitress working that day came over they were decided.  
  
"Hey Violet, so what you going to be having today then?"  
  
"Hey Meg I guess I'm going to have a ploughman's baguette, a coke and some pie."  
  
Meg smiled writing all that down, sometimes she really envied Violet she seemed to be able to eat so much and yet she never seemed to gain a pound, life really was unfair like that, once she had finished writing down Violet's order she turned to Aria and said  
  
"And what about you sweetie what would you like?"  
  
Aria thought for a minute and said, "Can I have a Coke, ham sandwich please?"  
  
Violet smiled and turned her attention to Meg again saying, "Can you cut her baguette into smaller chunks so that she can eat it easier please? And not coke, she'll have milk but she can have some pie too. Thank you."  
  
Meg nodded as she altered the second coke on the list to milk, and changed it to two portions of pie.  
  
"It'll all be ready in about 5 minutes ok?"  
  
They sat in silence, until their, food came. When it did they ate that quickly as they were both hungry.  
  
Neither of them was able to eat the whole of their baguettes, there was just too much of it, and so they changed their minds about having the pie.  
  
They got up and Violet paid the bill while Aria waited by the door.  
  
"Bye Meg, thanks for the meal it was really nice, sorry about the pie though, we were just so full,"  
  
"Don't worry bout it hon, pie is pie, if no one else wants it, it just means that me and Ted would have more to take home with us, so no worries, and I'll see you again soon ok hon."  
  
"Sure Meg, see you soon, Bye."  
  
"Bye Hon"  
  
Meg shouted after Violet as she left the café with Aria in hand, they carried on walking down the street looking in some of the shop windows and just wondering around really, there were leaves blowing on the floor, they had fallen they were the first to have fallen off the trees and were just turning yellow as they floated in the wind.  
  
They came to the magic box and stopped to go in there, Anya and Giles had used to run it before Anya and Xander had moved to New York and Giles had moved to England and married Clara.  
  
Now though Tara and one of her friends Marc ran it. But they were in luck when they went in because it was Tara's smiling face, which met them as they walked through the door.  
  
"Hey guys, what you been up to today?" she said walking towards them. "We been in the park on the swings, we swung really really high and then we had sandwiches but we're going to have ice cream soon."  
  
Aria said jumping up and down, she was itching to look round the shelves of the shop she loved it in here it was just like her mum and dad's shop but it was slightly smaller and it had a big open space I the middle of the room which she could run around in.  
  
"Well that sounds like you've been having a really good day so far," Tara said smiling she carried on though to say  
  
"Hey Aria would you like to look around on the shelves you can pick something out as well to keep for yourself as long as it isn't very expensive ok?"  
  
"Ok!" Aria said as she ran off to scramble through the shelves.  
  
Violet looked after her and said, "How do you know that she isn't just going to pull the biggest thing she can find out?"  
  
Tara smiled "I know cause the last time she was here she started to collect little gems, there not really worth any thing a couple of dollars at most and Giles has all ready got a lot of rare ones, but she doesn't like them, she just likes the pretty ones."  
  
Violet smiled, they both sat down at the table on in the middle of the room and violet began after checking to make sure that Aria was not in the immediate area and so would not over hear anything which was said.  
  
"I've um well I've decided that I'm going to go through with the ritual tonight."  
  
Tara bowed her head softly and said "I knew you would." She smiled at violet and said, "Is there anything you need? Anything which you want me to explain, I know that your dad'll probably go through everything with you but if there's anything that your not really sure about or anything that you want to know then I'm here for you, just ask me."  
  
Violet thought for a moment and then said "Is it going to hurt.. It's a silly question I know cause I have to be bled and that means cuts and everything, but is it going to be really painful? Will I feel it?"  
  
Tara thought for a moment then said "I don't know if it will hurt or not I'm really sorry but I don't, but I can give you this....." she said reaching around her neck to unclasp her necklace, it was silver and it had a simple sphere in it with a blood red gem dotted at the centre.  
  
"This was my mother's it'll protect you from pain of the blood, I'm not sure if it'll help this isn't what it was meant for, it was meant to protect you from pain which was pumped into the blood from the heart, but I hope it helps, you."  
  
Tara reached over as she said this and tied the clasp of the necklace around violets neck. It was a long chain and reached to Violets waist.  
  
"Thank you" Violet said softly and then turned to hug Tara.  
  
"Will you be there tonight? I don't want to be on my own, Dad said he'd be there and so would Willow, but I want you to be there too, please say you will, please."  
  
"Of course I'll be there sweetie,"  
  
Tara hugged Violet close to her again she felt like a mother comforting her child after they had bumped their head or bruised their knee, and wished silently that that was what she was and she wasn't there sitting in her shop helping this 17 year old prepare for her death.  
  
Aria came walking back towards them then she was getting bored of looking at all the stuff on the shelves and she had chosen the gem she wanted, it was a tigers eye. She liked it cause it shone when you moved it back and forth in different colours.  
  
"Hey Aria you picked one then, oh a tigers eye those are my favourite ones too"  
  
Tara said as she stood up and took the gem of the little girl she walked over to the counter and placed it into a purple gift bag with silver ribbon on it, It was far to big for the gem itself and normally she would have just put it into a small white bag or something but Aria liked the bags, she had helped her to pick them so she thought that she deserved one.  
  
She passed the gift bag to Aria and then pulled at something from under the counter, it was a brown bag, she handed it to Violet and said "For tonight" and smiled tightly.  
  
Violet looked down at the bag and nodded, she didn't look into the bag to see what it contained tonight was going to come quick enough as it was it was 4 o'clock she didn't want to hurry it along.  
  
"See you later" she said as she closed the door behind her and Aria.  
  
They were back on the main street again then, and Violet had a quick thought about where they could go next so taking Aria's hand she walked her a short distance down the road and into a shop called Equinox, it was a toy shop, filled to the brim with toys, she walked over to a display of teddy bears and picked up the one which she looked at before on many occasions and had decided she was going to get Aria for Christmas, she wasn't going to be there for Christmas not this year and not ever again, so if she wanted Aria to have the teddy bear she decided that she was going to buy it for her here and now, she took it over to the counter and paid for it, it was $45 a lot for a teddy bear she knew, but it was the most beautiful bear she had ever seen it was white, clear white, white as a snow ball, and so soft it felt like a the soft fluff you found on a kitten it measured as tall as the distance between her shoulder and middle finger. It had a red velvet ribbon tied around its neck and a friendly expression on its face.  
  
Aria's eyes were wide open when she saw the bear which Violet was buying, the shop keeper put it into a gigantic paper bag and handed it over to her with a smile, she grinned back to him and then turned back to Aria who was staring at her with eyes the size of bin lids.  
  
"So what about an ice cream now?"  
  
Aria nodded and they walked into the ice cream parlour, which was next door.  
  
Violet ordered a mint supreme for both of them and they tucked into it.  
  
"Is that bear for me?" Aria asked smiling up at Violet  
  
"Yeah it's for you, it's a present from me to make up for all the Christmas' and birthday presents I miss."  
  
Aria smiled for a moment, as she sucked on the ice cream in her mouth before the words sank in and she processed them properly, "Why will you miss them?"  
  
"Oh Aria, I don't want to but there are some things which we can't control you know what I mean?"  
  
Aria thought for a moment and said, "Yeah, will you try to be there though?"  
  
"Yeah Aria I'll try to be there for everyone with all my heart ok?"  
  
Aria nodded and scooped up the last drips of ice cream out of the bowl, before standing up to leave,  
  
"Violet, will you carry me I feel sleepy."  
  
Aria said with a tired voice and a yawn,  
  
"Course I will babe, come here," and with that she scooped Aria up in her arms and carried her for the 15 minute walk home, Aria fell asleep before they had got past the Magic box, Violet felt sad as she carried Aria home, watching the sun set, sad that she would never see the sun rise again and sad that she would never be able to carry her own child home asleep in her arms as she carried Aria now, and she felt a little tear escape her eyes as she walked up the drive to the front door of "Eternal Summers" watching the last glimmers of light disapper. 


	24. Chapter 24

Violet walked into the house carrying Aria in her arms, the little girl was fast asleep and she was holding a lot of bags so it was a bit difficult trying to put the bags down and shut the door without waking Aria up.  
  
She managed it though and had just placed aria on the couch in front of the window, the curtains were open so she lent across and pulled them shut, brushing her hands down the heavy green fabric, before turning her attention back to Aria's sleeping form. She smiled down at the little girl and pulled the blue comforter which was folded across the back of the couch, opened it and spread it over her making sure she was completely covered.  
  
She then sat on her knees in front of the couch-watching Aria as she slept. She didn't know how long she had sat there before she decided to get up and go and see her dad. She stood and lent over aria before she left though kissing the girl lightly on her cheek and stoking her cheek before bending down and kissing her again.  
  
She went back out into the hall and took off her coat and boots and was just walking towards the kitchen when the door opened and Xander walked out.  
  
He ran forward towards her and devoured her into his arms. He hugged her so tight, and without realising it she started to cry on his shoulder, she couldn't believe that he was there. She hadn't expected him to be here, he hadn't expected to ever see him or Anya again and here he was.  
  
He stood there rocking her slightly in his arms for a couple of minutes until she had stopped crying mostly and then let go of her.  
  
"Hey." He said smiling, "I know I'm not the best looking guy in the world but there's no need to burst into tears when you see me, you could damage a guys confidence doing that."  
  
"Hey," she said wiping the tears from her eyes, " didn't mean to go all weepy on you, I just wasn't expecting you to be here, but I'm glad you are."  
  
"Will phoned me earlier, she told me bout the ritual. So I caught an earlier flight, Anya wanted to be here but there wasn't another ticket available on the same flight she caught one which left two hours ago, she's going to try and be here ....."  
  
"It's ok, I understand I mean I doubt the airport's really able to offer immediate exchange tickets for people needing to get somewhere on time to help with a ritual to prevent the end of the world." She grinned and said, "It means so much to me though that you going to be here."  
  
Xander stroked her cheek and kissed her forehead, she was nearly as tall as him but there was still enough difference for him to have to dip his head slightly.  
  
Violet grinned back at him and then said looking round as if suddenly realising something "Where is everyone else?" walking towards the kitchen  
  
Xander smiled "Willow's gone to the magic shop to get Tara and pick up some stuff for tonight Oz and Giles went somewhere for something, and the broody one and your dad are upstairs, Clara's packing."  
  
"Why's Clara packing?"  
  
"Her and Aria are going to go and spend the night with a friend of hers from uni, she apparently moved out here a couple of years ago and Clara's not seen her since then."  
  
"Oh." Violet said sitting down at the table.  
  
"I just want you to know, Violet, you don't have to go through with this." Xander said his voice quivering softly, he had been through apocalypse after apocalypse, which they had stopped, and he had fought vampires and demons alike and won against them all helping Buffy with her destiny.  
  
But now sitting at this table staring at the 17 year old girl who was sitting In front of him knowing and helping her prepare to end her life in order to stop evil, for the first time he felt as if they had failed.  
  
How could this be winning? If it meant that Violet had to die.  
  
Violet smiled at him softly and said as if she knew what he was thinking; in a soft whist full tone of voice which he had never heard her use,  
  
"I do, everyone keeps saying that, but I know I do. You can't ignore evil it's just going to keep coming and coming. I can't stop it but I can put it off. Ruin it's plans makes sure it doesn't win this round."  
  
Xander lent forward and hugged her as she said this.  
  
There was a succession of bangs coming from the staircase and suddenly Spike appeared in the doorway of the kitchen.  
  
He looked over to the table to where Xander was hugging Violet and nodded at him. He had never really liked Xander, and Xander had never tried to hide his dislike for the vampire, but he had grown to understand him more over the years he had spent with Buffy, he had realised that it was only out of fear that he disliked him, it wasn't fear of spike himself which Xander felt, it was fear of what spike might do to Buffy or Violet, or any of them. So in a strange way Spike felt respect for the man in front of him and if things were different then he probably would have found himself a brilliant and trustworthy friend in him just as Buffy had. When Violet had heard him enter she had let go of Xander and sat up straight. Xander had nodded back at him and looked out of the window, Violet started to speak,  
  
"What did you want to show me dad?"  
  
She said remembering his words from the morning and how he had instructed her to be home at dusk.  
  
"Get you boots and coat, you might need a hat and scarf too. It's getting a bit nippy out there, don't be long."  
  
Violet got up and went out into the hall, she walked into the lounge quickly first and kissed Aria one last time knowing that she would probably be gone when she got back and whispered "I love you," and "Good bye" into her ears before walking back out into the hall.  
  
"Where are you taking her Spike?" Xander asked him, he stood up and stepping towards him stopping when he was square in front of him.  
  
"To see Buffy and Dawn." Spike answered as he walked towards the door, "We won't be long, I have to show her something, tell peaches we'll be back within the hour."  
  
Violet was waiting for him in the hall, sitting on the bottom step tying up the last lace on her boot before standing up and turning to him.  
  
She was wearing her boots and a ¾ length worn black leather jacket, which he immediately recognised as being Buffy's; she had a purple scarf and hat on. She had tucked all of her hair inside the hat, and her chin was covered completely by the scarf.  
  
He walked past her and opened the front door, holding it open for her and followed her out of the house and into the street, pulling the door shut behind him.  
  
She held her arm out to him as they walked and he took it, with a smile and so they walked hand in hand down the road.  
  
"Where are we going Dad?"  
  
She asked them as they walked through the streets, they had turned away from the street which led to the centre of the town, and passed the park where she had run the night he had arrived, that night seemed so long ago now, but in truth it was on a couple of days, she laughed at the thought at how much her life had changed in the last 50 or so hours, back then she had been a normal regular teenager about to turn 18, she had been going to go to college to study musical performance and song writing, she wanted to be a singer when she was older or maybe in a band playing guitar or drums, she had always like the drums they steadied you when you were singing or playing you could get lost in their beat and they would guide you through the song, now though they beat seemed to have gone out of control, just like her life, although that didn't matter now since her life was going to end tonight.  
  
She looked up into the sky and saw the moon come into view just as a cloud brushed past it.  
  
She smiled up at it. And then turned to look at her father.  
  
Spike had been watching her, as they walked. The street were almost dead, he couldn't see any one about any where, that didn't mean that there wasn't though, there were probably a couple of things lurking around, especially where he was taking her there would be so he needed to be on his guard.  
  
They came to a crossroads, not knowing which way they needed to go Violet turned to her dad who with his free hand he pointed straight forward, there was only one thing which was down this road, and that was the grave yard.  
  
They stopped outside the gate, and spike turned to her looking her straight in the eyes,  
  
"I want to show you, your family pet is that ok?"  
  
She looked at her father for a moment saying  
  
"I've seen their graves before dad........."  
  
Spike interrupted her and said "You may have seen their graves, but that's not who they were, babe, come with me."  
  
He held out his hand to her again, she took it and they walked into the grave yard, they walked over to the south west side, Buffy and Dawn had been buried next to Joyce under the shade of an oak tree, Violet had spent many days when she had been little sitting in the roots of the tree talking to her mom, but she had grown out of that a long time ago realising that her mom wasn't there any more had been one of the hardest things which she had ever done, once she had done that, she had stopped going there, she couldn't remember the last time that she had been there.  
  
The moonlight illuminated the pale silver ness of the tombstones making them almost glow in this light, the letters of their names etched into the glowing stone,  
  
BUFFY ANNE SUMMERS-HOLTON  
  
DAWN MARIE CLAIR SUMMERS JOYCE LOUISA SUMMERS  
  
Violet kneeled down in front of her mom's tombstones and followed the trail of the letters with her fingers, knowing each of them by heart but needing for to trace them as if to remind herself of something she had forgotten a long time ago.  
  
"I used to come here when I was little and sit here, talking to them."  
  
She said absentmindedly, standing up again. "What is it you want to show me."  
  
Spike lifted his hand and place a finger to her lips before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a mirror which he placed on the floor in front of the graves, so that it reflected the of the moon onto each of the stones.  
  
He waited for a couple of moment clutching Violets hand tightly in his so much so that she nearly cried out in pain.  
  
Suddenly three pale translucent hands reached out of the mirror and pulled themselves out, Violet gasped in surprise as she saw first her mom's transparent form climb out of the mirror, her hair was flowing out behind her and she was clothed in a flowing gown.  
  
Dawn followed her out her hair was longer but like Buffy she wore a flowing white gown, as was Joyce who was the last to climb out of the mirror.  
  
The three forms stood in front of them on their standing on their graves.  
  
"Who....... What......." Violet asking she had gone pale and her body was shaking she felt as if she was going to collapse, this couldn't be happening it couldn't be true.  
  
"Baby, I'd like you to meet your mom, aunt and grand mother." 


	25. Chapter 25

Spike pulled her up just before she hit the floor, and held her steady with his hands on her hips until he thought that she would be able to stand alone, when she had stopped shaking as much he let go and she stood there staring at the three spectres in front of her.  
  
"Mommy?" Violet stepped forward towards the transparent form of her mother standing right in front of her, she hadn't seen her since she was five, she had seen pictures and watched home videos but that hadn't been the same as touching her mom's hair holding her hand and hugging her.  
  
She had missed her so much, missed her voice the look in her eyes, her presence every day and here she was standing right in front of her.  
  
Spike saw her step forward and grabbed her back wards saying,  
  
"You can't go to them, Babe, all they are are a reflection of their souls, they're not real, if you try to touch them, they'll just disappear back into the mirror again."  
  
Violet stepped back immediately and said  
  
"How?"  
  
"When a person dies Pet, their soul leaves their bodies and goes on to a better place, their body rots away into the ground, but they leave a part of themselves on earth to watch over those who they love, they can't always be seen or touched but their there. Watching you, caring for you and loving you. You said that when you were little you used to come here and talk to them well they would have listened to you with all they had, and gone on to tell the souls what you said."  
  
Spike finished and smiled right at Buffy's form who was floating in front of him, he seemed to be lost in a trance and forgetting that Violet was there he spoke to her  
  
"Hey Luv, it's me again, I've come to see how you are, and to tell you, that I think about you every single day, and I've come home, come home to Violet, you wouldn't believe how beautiful she is pet, she looks just like you. She's here with me tonight now........................" He paused for a moment carrying on after turning to Violet and squeezing her hand.  
  
"You have to do something for, she's coming to you tonight, you need to help her pet, guide her to you, will you do that for me?"  
  
Buffy's Spectre began to nod and then disappeared, Dawn stepped forward she smiled at him,  
  
"Violet, this is Dawn, she's your Aunt....... Although you probably know that don't you pet?"  
  
She smiled at him and nodded Violet stepped forward slightly towards her being careful not to cross the mirror's barrier,  
  
"I remember her, when I was little, she went suddenly one day before you left, no one told me why," she said turning to spike momentarily before turning back to dawn,  
  
"I missed you though, you smelled like chocolate, where did you go?" Dawn looked sad and beckoned to Violet, she turned to Spike to check that it was ok for her to go forward, he nodded his permission and she advanced towards Dawn's outstretched hand.  
  
The minute her fingers penetrated the barrier of the mirror, she felt hands reaching to her grabbing hold of her and pulling her down wards, downwards, into oblivion, everything was dark she could see images rushing past her thousands of people from all over the world and from all times it was like peeping into the world itself, it whirl wind of activity, the wind was blue sky blue and it was rough tossing her from side to side to side, until finally exhaling her through one of the window's.  
  
She fell from the moon itself, she felt as she landed on the floor, she was in exactly the same spot which she had been only minutes before, but her dad was no where to be seen, she stood up and brushed the loose grass strands which had clung to her jeans, she took a look around her, in front of her were the graves just as they had been before, but as she looked closer she saw that things weren't just as they had been, instead of the three graves standing next to the tree there were only two, it was then she noticed the person standing next to her, wearing a tight fitting black jeans a black roll neck top and a cranberry cord jacket, with her caramel hair flowing down her back almost to her waist.  
  
The figure turned to look at her, it was Dawn.  
  
"Where are we, what did you do? I want to go back........ take me back!"  
  
Violet started staring at the girl, she had been about 19 when she died and she hadn't aged in any way since that day.  
  
"I'm here to show you something." Dawn said turning to face her little niece who was not so little any more a sad smile adorning her face.  
  
"What?"  
  
"How I died." Dawn whispered slowly turning back to look at the graves.  
  
"This is the night after Buffy's funeral, I came here alone, no one would help me, not even Spike. He knew it wouldn't work they all did, tried to tell me again and again, I think they thought that I must have just accepted it or something cause no one suspected what I was doing when I said I was going to spend the night with Seth."  
  
She broke off just as a figure came into sight from the over side of the tree, it was Dawn; she looked scared and was alone.  
  
She looked around quickly before dropping her backpack to the floor stripping off the long jacket she was wearing and reaching into the bag, pulling out a pale white velvet dress with a full skirt, she pulled it over her head before reaching under it and unbuckling her jeans and pulling off her shirt.  
  
Violet turned to the Dawn who was standing next to her and said  
  
"What's going on? What are you doing?"  
  
The other Dawn was walking around Buffy's grave, setting up for candles to represent north, south, east and west. She put the stone of Armara in the centre of the newly covered grave and kneeled at the base of the newly covered grave facing the tombstone.  
  
"I'm......... I tried to bring Buffy back again, she had died before about six years before this and Willow had brought her back using some of the most powerful magic's which have ever been found, I thought that I could handle it myself, bring her back again since they couldn't I'd been studying magic for a bout four years by this time and thought that I could do it."  
  
Violet stood watching, transfixed by the sight in front of her, Dawn had reached over and lit the candles on each of the four corners of the grave. She leant back on her knees held a candle in her arms as she chanted,  
  
"Osirus keeper of death I call you, release the people's warrior realise her soul to world so we may again have our protector."  
  
A great wind began to howl around the cemetery devouring the leaves on its journey round and swaying around and around the tomb as dawn continued to try and chant her skin cracking along her arms and neck from the power of the magic's which she was trying to channel.  
  
Blood spilling out of the slits in a current as the winds became more and more ferocious.  
  
Circling round and around the graves as the chanting got quieter and the tears got louder.  
  
As Dawn's body slumped forward onto the grave, the wind dying immediately as if it had never happened to be replace by a subtle breeze which whispered across the ground ruffling dawn's dress as it sailed over it, the moonlight glazing over it's once milky whiteness which was now tainted with the blood of the dead.  
  
Violet wiped the tear from her eye as she turned to Dawn whispering softly "What happened?"  
  
"The magic won, I wasn't strong enough to control it's power so it over through me."  
  
Dawn lent over to hug Violet and wiped her eyes with her fingers saying  
  
"It didn't hurt, just reach for my hand when it happens, I know what your going to be doing later so does Buffy, we'll be there waiting for you, just reach out to us when you feel the end and you'll feel no pain, we'll pull you towards us."  
  
Violet hugged Dawn tightly and whispered "Thank you"  
  
When she had pulled away from the hug, Dawn wasn't there any more, she was back in the graveyard standing with her dad, the spectres were gone and there was nothing but the graves.  
  
Spike offered his hand to Violet and she took it, they walked in silence to the gate of the graveyard they walked through it and walked home.  
  
They stopped outside the house and spike turned to her saying,  
  
"Are you ok pet?"  
  
"Yeah dad I'm fine, thank you for taking me it meant a lot to me, she told me to reach for her at the end, and she'll be there."  
  
They hugged and went back into the house. 


	26. Chapter 26

Giles opened the door quietly not knowing what to expect on the other side, the room which he entered was painted a powerful violet colour which once you shut the door engulfed you into it's purple world.  
  
The room was big and as you looked round it there were shelves which a young woman accumulates on the journey from childhood to womanhood, he could see patsy Anne, the first doll which violet had ever had, it was a red haired rag doll spike had bought her on one of his journeys to see Angel in La.  
  
Turning again he could see the star and moon mobile which he had bought Buffy when she had found out that she was pregnant, to hang above violets crib.  
  
On one wall next to the desk there was a pin board which was full to bursting of pictures of anyone who had ever graced Violets life, he saw at a glance pictures of Buffy and Spike when they had first started dating at Tara's birthday party, and another picture of them holding her when she was little.  
  
There were several wedding pictures pinned up there, Willow and Oz's, Anya and Xander's, his and Clara's. All smiles and happy scenes, he felt tears coming to his eyes as he realised there would never be a wedding day for Violet, never a dress to pick and never the happiness which marriage brought, each and every day.  
  
Then there were pictures of Violet and her friends out skating, on a carousel at the theme park, eating ice cream and getting ready to get out.  
  
There were several pictures of her and a laughing blonde girl hugging each other and whispering their childish secrets to each other, Giles' heart wept as he turned to face the monster that the blonde child was no becoming lying in Violets bed as the agony of her transformation continued.  
  
She looked almost angelic as she lay there in one of the moments of peace allowed her by the devils pulling at her soul.  
  
Her blonde hair spread out across the pink pillow spreading across it like hundreds of baby snakes slivering away from the nest, her eyes closed perspiration dripping down her face.  
  
He moved closer to her almost disbelieving that this sweet angelic girl was to be the undoing of them all, he stood above her and swept his hand across her forehead.  
  
The eyes which had been shut in sweet innocence now flung open with pure evil shinning aqua, a cruel maniacal smile spreading across her face as she strained against the stainless steel restraints which held her back.  
  
Out of no where Angel appeared and pulled Giles back, he too had nearly gone too close to the girl to leave, Angkara had chosen well, this girl would manage to undo many people if given the chance to, her innocence would be her weapon.  
  
As Angel pulled him back it was if he had been pulled from a trance where once he saw innocence in the girl he now saw pure un adulterated evil, not the girl who she had been laughing in the picture with Violet but monster she had been changed to.  
  
"It's not long now." Angel commented as he sat down on the hardback chair next to the window.  
  
"Her soul left gradually, she hung on better than I would have expected but there's no trace of it in there now, all that's left is Evil, pure untarnished Evil the kind legend is written of."  
  
They sat in silence alternating their glances from the monster shackled to the bed and view from the window.  
  
They both looked up as they heard voices outside the window, and watched the tentative hug, which took place between father and Daughter, before they entered the house.  
  
Giles looked back to angel and said, "The sun set an hour ago, when the moon rises we must begin."  
  
Angel had a mug of blood in his hand, which he raised to Giles and said "To the death of the Moon." 


	27. Chapter 27

Violet and Spike walked into the house, neither of them really knew what to expect, Oz was walking across the hall from the study to the lounge looking at an open book in his hand as he walked, he stopped when he saw the two of them entering the house smiling at Violet and saying,  
  
"Hey Babe, you ok?"  
  
"Yeah Oz I'm fine, I'm going go up to my room for a bit I've got something which I need to do before later. Ok?"  
  
She started to walk up the stairs,  
  
"OK babe, don't be too long though cause Willow and Tara are preparing a meal for us all to eat before................ Just don't be too long ok?"  
  
Violet smiled and nodded at him. She knew what he had wanted to say, "Before the ritual, before you die" she muttered the words as she walked past her bedroom the door was closed and she didn't bother to push the door open to see how Erin was, to be honest she didn't really care any more.  
  
She walked into the room, which she had shared the previous night with Aria, she looked at the bags which contained her purchases from earlier, from her day out with Aria.  
  
She noticed the girls absence to, assuming that she must have already left with Clara, she wished that she could have said good bye properly, she was lying on the bed staring at the ceiling when a though struck her, there was a way which she could say good bye to Aria and that was just what she was going to do, she jumped off the bed and stalked across the room to the desk, shuffling round in the draws until she found what she was looking for, it was in the second draw, she lifted out the black box which contained a stationary set which Anya had bought her a couple of years ago for her birthday.  
  
She opened the box and pulled out a couple of sheets of the black writing paper, which had stars dancing round the margin.  
  
She picked up a white pen from the box and began to write.  
  
Dear Aria, I don't know what to write in this letter, nothing I can say will make things right or the way they were, and there is no way which I can explain to you why I can't be there for you anymore, you'll have to ask your mummy and daddy for that, and they will tell you when they think that the right time has come and that you will be able to deal with what they have to say,  
  
I had a wonderful day with you today it was the most fun that I've had in a long time and I just want you to know that, I don't want you to forget me but I won't blame you or be mad with you if sometimes you do.  
  
Your so little now, I don't know whether you will remember me when you grow older, but I hope that you do, I would like to think that you will always remember the time which we spent together.  
  
I love you aria, more than I can write in this note, more than words can describe you are the little sister, which I always dreamed I would have.  
  
I remember the day that you were born, I stayed up all night for two days I was basically on the point of exhaustion when finally Giles phoned to tell us that you had been born I was so happy.  
  
I whish I coud be there to see you grow up but I know that I can't your what helped me to make my decision, watching you sleep made me realise that the world really can be a good place and deserves to be saved.  
  
I hope that you will experience all the things that life has to offer and remember always to wish upon a star if you need me and I'll find you no matter where you are!  
  
Lots of Love Violet.  
  
Violet finished the letter wiping a tear from her eye, and decided that she needed to write another one before she was finished.  
  
Dear Dad It's typical isn't it? Typical of everything in my life that the minute that I get what I want most in the world. And I finally think that things are going to go my way that things twist and turn and make it all go away again.  
  
There is so much which I want to tell you and want you to know, I thought of you and mom ever since you left, I used to sit out on the roof talking to the stars hoping that somehow you would be able to hear what I was saying to them somehow they would manage to get a message to you.  
  
I want you to have my diary and books, they're not really worth anything but there the things which mean the most to me, my thoughts, songs and poems, hopefully if you read them it will help you to understand me a bit better, even if it is too late to make much of a difference.  
  
I wrote a poem earlier while I was out, it sums up how I feel and I want you to have it,  
  
Do not stand at my grave and weep; I am not there. I do not sleep. I am a thousand winds that blow. I am the diamond glints on snow. I am the sunlight in ripened grain I am the gentle autumn rain. When you awaken in the morning's hush I am the swift uplifting rush Of quiet birds in circled flight. I am the soft stars that shine at night. Do not stand at my grave and cry; I am not there. I did not die.  
  
I love you daddy Love Violet Xxx  
  
Once she had finished the second letter she pulled out two envelopes and folded the letters up neatly, placing them in separate envelopes addressing and sealing them.  
  
She wiped the tears from her eyes and placed them in the centre of the desk.  
  
Once she had done that she went over to the window and climbed out on the roof wanting to see the stars one last time.  
  
She heard her name being called from downstairs and climbed back through the window just as willow appeared in the door way.  
  
"Hey kiddo, dinner's ready now, if you're hungry."  
  
Violet smiled at her she was nervous. "Yeah I'm starving what is it?"  
  
"Chinese food and Cake"  
  
"Yum!"  
  
"You better hurry up of Xander will have eaten it all"  
  
Willow said with a grin watching Violet grabbing a comb off the dresser and pulling it quickly in sharp decisive movements, once she was satisfied she walked out the door and down the stairs quickly followed by Willow.  
  
She got to the kitchen and smiled as she saw her whole family standing around in there eating.  
  
Tara and Spike were sitting at the table laughing about something; Oz, Giles and Xander were standing by the back door looking over a book.  
  
Everyone stopped talking when they saw Violet enter the room. She walked over to the table and picked up one of the Chinese boxes and said "Yay no one's eaten the lemon chicken."  
  
Everyone laughed and they got back to eating a happy meal. They finished the food and everyone was full, they had a cake though it had been Violet's birthday cake but Willow had enchanted the icing so that it said "we love you Violet til the end of the world" instead, everybody ate their cake in a pensive mood, violet sat on spike's lap as she ate and leaned her head into his shoulder listening to his un-beating heart lay dormant as everyone around her talked.  
  
Angel appeared at the kitchen door just as they were finishing their cake And said "It's time." Everyone froze and turned to violet who got up and walked to her room to get ready.  
  
A/N the poem in the letter which Violet writes to spike is by an unknown poem but thought to be the work of a soldier during world war one. 


	28. Chapter 28

Violet walked upstairs to her room, she shut the door and sat in the darkness for a moment watching the sun set through the window, she was in a kind of daze, not knowing what to do, thoughts of everything she was going to miss were flying through her head, thoughts of the college she would never attend the husband she would never have, the children she would never carry and give birth to, the ones she would never watch them grow from year to year, see what type of people they would become, what kind of person she was to become. It was surreal really she though to herself as she pulled the parcel which Tara had given her onto her lap, she untied the strings which bound it and pulled the paper back, inside there was the most delicate dress Violet had ever seen it was white lace with silk, the lace was so beautiful it was hand sewn and had tiny pearls sewn into it.  
  
She held the dress out in front of her and walked over to the mirror holding it against her body seeing how it would take her form. A tear slipped down her cheek as she did this, she laid the dress out on her bed and stood in the middle of the room stripping off all her clothes standing naked in the room she turned to look at herself one last time in the mirror before reaching for the dress and pulling it over her head, the silk was like a breathe of fresh air the lightness and coolness of it revitalised her skin and made her remember why she was doing this, she was doing this to save the world to give others the chance to live.  
  
She sat on the bench by her vanity mirror and pulled her hair down and started to comb through it, combing each strand a hundred times until it shone in the starlight, she pulled the necklace Tara had given her. Just as she put her silver comb down there was a knock at the door, she took one last look at herself in the mirror, It was Spike who was waiting for on the other side of the door, he looked at her from head to toe as she stood before him devouring every inch every perfection and blemish which made up his baby, the memory formed now would live forever an instant saved away for eternity, never forgotten.  
  
He pulled her into his arms and hugged so tightly she thought that he was going to push the life right out of her then and there, he threw her back slightly in his arms looking her over once more before saying in a very whispered voice,  
  
"I love you violet, so much it hurts."  
  
Tears were brimming in her eyes as she looked at the father who she had lost and found again not knowing what to say, there were so many things which she needed to tell him, that she wanted him to know but there were no words, no time in which to express them all, she went up on tip toes and kissed him on the cheek leaving an imprint on his skin which would never leave him, she hugged him again and whispered  
  
"I love you to dada, but its time, I have to do this now, don't worry about me when I'm gone I'm going to mommy she loves me nearly as much as she loved you I'll be safe, live for me though, live for ever keep our memory alive and I'll live through you, mommy will live through you, and one day we'll all be together in heaven."  
  
Spike was crying now as he held his daughter in his arms, it wasn't fair that she should be taken from him like this; everyone he loved was taken from him, and ironically it was she who was trying to reassure him in the moments before her death, not the other way round.  
  
The two stood their holding each other for a couple of moments before Willow was also dressed in a white robe similar to the one Violet was wearing appeared in the corridor and coughed slightly indicating that it was time.  
  
Spike released Violet from his arms and let her hands slip until they were clutched in his own and they walked down the stairs after Willow. 


	29. Chapter 29

The downstairs of the house looked so different then it had from just an hour before, Violet took a sharp intake of breathe from the shock.  
  
The Lounge had been cleared of all furniture, the curtains and pictures taken down, there were candles everywhere, covering the floor, some lit some not.  
  
In the centre of the room a pentagram had been drawn on one side of Erin's body had been laid out, her arms and legs were bound together using mystical power which could not be broken. There was a space next to her where violet assumed she was to lie down, on the four corners of the pentagram for spaces had been left clear of candles, Tara and Giles were already seated in two of the spaces.  
  
Willow turned to face Violet hugged her kissed her and whispered her love into the girls ear before the third place at the base of the pentagram, Oz and Xander who were standing on the edge of the room came forward each hugging her in turn, she was so engrossed in the moment that she hardly noticed their actions she kissed them back though and knew in her heart that they loved her and they knew that their love was returned, it was to be there Job to protect Violet and the others while the ritual took place, Angel came forward and hugged her, he did not whisper any last sentiments in her ears not seeing the point he had always been of the belief that when you loved someone in the way which had had loved Buffy and Spike and Violet you couldn't describe that love in words it was too intense you just had to trust that they knew the love was there.  
  
He moved and sat in the last remaining space at the head of the pentagram, once he had done this Spike led Violet and motioned her to lie down next to Erin, he stood above them and waited while Oz and Xander lit the remaining candle holding them in their places. Once they had done that they moved towards the hall and held their weapons ready to defend their friends to the death.  
  
Spike counted to ten in his head, he didn't know how he was going to do this, didn't know if he could go through with this, it was wrong, parents were not meant to aide their child's death, they weren't meant to burry their children it was wrong.  
  
The four seated around the pentagram began to chant.  
  
"Hakra we summon you fill us with you presence, Hakra we summon lend us your power, bestow in us the gift to heal, to banish death from this plane to shatter Angkara's, evil form and release her chosen vessel from her thrall."  
  
They repeated that mantra over and over again until they moved as one their faces raised to the sky and a golden light shone through each of them bursting through their chests joining them to each other through their hearts.  
  
Spike opens his eyes wide it was time, he bent over his precious girl and pulled the ceremonial knife out of his pocket, he kissed her one last time and told her to shut her eyes and watch for her mother it was then that he cut her throat in one quick movement, she was dead before the blade had left her throat, Spike choking back tears which were falling down his cheek as he watched the blood of his child flow down her dress his salt tears mixing with her blood as were the tears of those seated around her as the blood flew through the lines of the Pentagram.  
  
Violet lay still waiting for a sign an image anything to climb towards anything to pull herself to, she felt her father kiss her and listened as he told her to close her eyes just as the tilt of the blade touched her skin she saw her mother calling to her pulling her away from her body, she felt no pain, by the time the blade touched her throat, she was gone wandering through the nights sky in her mothers arms.  
  
He didn't hear the battle going on in the hall between the guide and Oz and Xander he didn't hear the ear splitting scream or see the emanation of Angkara appear before him screaming in agony as her she was destroyed, didn't hear Xander's final grunt as his body fell to the ground or his dying breath as he screamed to Oz to kill it, to kill the guide, he didn't see any of this he sat in the centre and held his daughter's body in his arms and cried into her gaping wound begging for forgiveness he knew he didn't deserve.  
  
Muffled screams of his friends surrounded him as one by one they fell the guide still moving among them trying to reach the chosen.  
  
Suddenly a bright light surrounded them all and everything went dark. 


	30. Epilogue

Moonlight shone through the open curtained bedroom window of 17-year-old Violet. In the moonlight she looked almost Elvin in appearance with her silver blonde hair glowing in the light and her petite frame, which was barely visible underneath her maroon cotton duvet. She was sleeping soundly but suddenly sat bolt upright in her bed and let out a little cry before opening her crystal baby blue eyes which were identical to those of her father, and turned to look at the digital clock on her bedside table and saw that it was 3:15 am.  
  
She groaned to herself as she saw the time, it was her birthday, she lay back in her bed and stared out the window, she was eighteen, eighteen, God that sounded weird. She decided that there would be no harm in going downstairs to have a cup of tea just to see if it would help her sleep, she wouldn't be getting her presents til later that night any way at her party.  
  
She pulled her white bath robe around her and walked carefully out of the room trying not to make any noise, the house was full of people who had come over for her birthday, Aunt Dawn and uncle Steven with their two kids Hannah and Callum were here and Giles and Clara and Aria were here, Xander, Anya, Angel, Cordelia, Willow, Oz and their twins Seth and Allyson and Tara all the people who loved her were here with her, she had just reached the bottom step when a noise came from the living room, she turned to see who it was and saw he dad walking out of the room where his jeans and carrying Lily in his arms,  
  
"What are you doing up already then birthday Girl?"  
  
"I couldn't sleep, thought I'd get a drink. What about you?"  
  
He grinned at her and nodded towards Violets two year old little sister,  
  
"Well mistress lily here still hasn't got to grips with the whole sleeping thing, God knows where she gets her energy from cause I don't."  
  
Violet smiled and opened her arms up to lily who immediately reached for her and snuggled into her shoulder, Spike smiled and said  
  
"Well what drink would you like then what about some tea, if you sit there with lily I'll go and make it for you."  
  
Violet walked over to the settee and sat with Lily on her lap, gazing lovingly into her little sisters face, it had been a huge shock two years ago when her mom had suddenly announced to everyone that she was pregnant, especially since they had all thought that she was infertile due to an accident which she had had when Violet had been little and a car had hit her.  
  
When Spike re-entered the lounge he found both his daughters asleep, he put the cup of tea on the coffee table and pulled a velvet throw over the two of them, tucking in the corner to make sure they wouldn't catch cold he looked at them for a moment and thought.  
  
He remembered killing Violet remembered the bright light which had hit him and the darkness that had devoured them, he had been so shocked to have woken from the darkness in his own bed with Buffy lying very much alive next to him, he alone had retained all memories of this previous life, things were different now though, Buffy was alive Angkara was destroyed, Dawn was alive and married, Violet was alive and had a promising life as a song writer ahead of her, and his special gift his little baby Lily was still with him, he looked at the clock, he supposed he should be getting back to bed he had a party to organise later that day and a guy to interrogate, from the sound of it this Pete sounded quite nice but he still wanted to check him out before he let him any where near his baby.  
  
He turned and walked up the stairs turning off the lights as he went, when he reached his and Buffy's room he went in, shutting the door behind him and slipped off his jeans sliding into bed next to his love, who groaned at him as he kissed her awake,  
  
"What was that for?" She mumbled  
  
"Cause I love you and I missed you."  
  
Spike whispered back to her as he held her in his arms til she fell asleep. 


End file.
